Legal Dictionary

legitimate

Definition of legitimate

Etymology

    From Late Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare ‘to make legal'.

Pronunciation 1

  • IPA: /ləˈʤɪtɪmət/

Adjective

legitimate (comparative more legitimate, superlative most legitimate)

  1. Lawfully begotten; born to married people.
  2. (obsolete) Authorized; real, genuine.
  3. Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful.
  4. Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; valid.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Pronunciation 2

  • IPA: /ləˈʤɪtɪmeɪt/

Verb

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

  1. To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means.

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • delegitimate

References:

  1. Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.



SHARE THIS PAGE

TOP LEGAL TERMS THIS WEEK
1.     status quo
2.     lex situs
3.     landed property
4.     lex fori
5.     conclusive presumption
6.     lex causae
7.     rebuke
8.     common stock
9.     pro forma
10.     indecency