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Illegitimate

//ɪlɪˈd͡ʒɪtɪmət// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards.

    "[…] it may be impossible to convince them that the illegitimate power which they obtain, by degrading themselves, is a curse […]"

  2. 2
    Not in accordance with the law.

    "[…] if things went on at this rate it would be doubtful soon whether ever again he would be able to win another election by methods legitimate or illegitimate."

  3. 3
    Not sanctioned by marriage.

    "If we credit the scandal of the former [i.e. his enemies], Artaxerxes sprang from the illegitimate commerce of a tanner’s wife with a common soldier."

  4. 4
    Not sanctioned by marriage.; Born to unmarried parents.

    "an illegitimate child"

  5. 5
    Not sanctioned by marriage.; Having a child or children with a person to whom one is not married. dated

    "She had only to collect her memories, which proved to her that “anybody” regarded the illegitimate children as more rightfully to be looked shy on and deprived of social advantages than illegitimate fathers."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    Not correctly deduced.

    "an illegitimate inference"

  2. 7
    Not authorized by good usage; not genuine.

    "an illegitimate word"

  3. 8
    Involving the fertilization of pistils by stamens not of their own length, in heterogonously dimorphic and trimorphic flowers.

    "illegitimate union; illegitimate fertilization"

Adjective
  1. 1
    contrary to or forbidden by law wordnet
  2. 2
    of marriages and offspring; not recognized as lawful wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A person born to unmarried parents.

    "Her father and mine was a shameless man and of all his illegitimates I am the most unfortunate and poverty stricken."

  2. 2
    the illegitimate offspring of unmarried parents wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make illegitimate. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

First attested in 1536, from Latin illēgitimus, most likely an adapted borrowing of Middle French illegitime, equivalent to il- + legitimate, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3).

Etymology 2

First attested in 1536, from Latin illēgitimus, most likely an adapted borrowing of Middle French illegitime, equivalent to il- + legitimate, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3).

Etymology 3

First attested in 1536, from Latin illēgitimus, most likely an adapted borrowing of Middle French illegitime, equivalent to il- + legitimate, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3).

See also for "illegitimate"

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