LEGITIMATE

lawful, legitimate, licit

(adjective) authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law; “a legitimate government”

legitimate

(adjective) of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful

legitimate

(adjective) in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles; “legitimate advertising practices”

legitimate, logical

(adjective) based on known statements or events or conditions; “rain was a logical expectation, given the time of year”

legitimate

(verb) make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone); “They legitimized their natural child”

legitimate

(verb) show or affirm to be just and legitimate

legalize, legalise, decriminalize, decriminalise, legitimize, legitimise, legitimate, legitimatize, legitimatise

(verb) make legal; “Marijuana should be legalized”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

legitimate (comparative more legitimate, superlative most legitimate)

In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

Synonyms: lawful, legal

Antonym: illegitimate

Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.

• Macaulay

Authentic, real, genuine.

Antonym: illegitimate

Antonym: false

Lawfully begotten, i.e, born to a legally married couple. [from mid-14th century]

Synonym: rightful

Antonym: illegitimate

Relating to hereditary rights.

Noun

legitimate (plural legitimates)

A person born to a legally married couple.

Antonyms

• bastard

• illegitimate

Verb

legitimate (third-person singular simple present legitimates, present participle legitimating, simple past and past participle legitimated)

(transitive) To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means. [from 1590]

Usage notes

• Forms of legitimize are about twice as common as forms of the verb legitimate in the US.

• Forms of legitimate are somewhat more common than the forms of the verbs legitimize and legitimise (combined) in the UK.

Synonyms

• legitimize

Source: Wiktionary

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Le*git"i*mate, a. Etym: [LL. legitimatus, p. p. of legitimare to legitimate, fr. L. legitimus legitimate. See Legal.]

1. Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.

2. Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.

3. Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.

4. Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors. Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic. Macaulay.

5. Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.

Le*git"i*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Legitimated; p. pr. & vb. n. Legitimating.]

Definition: To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child. To enact a statute of that which he dares not seem to approve, even to legitimate vice. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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