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Legitimate
Definitions
- 1 In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
"Rodwell was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson - who has shown 15 red cards since the start of last season - after 23 minutes for what appeared to be a legitimate challenge on Suarez."
- 2 Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.
"legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard or method"
- 3 Authentic, real, genuine.
"legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions"
- 4 Marital.; Lawfully begotten, i.e. born to a married couple or later legitimated.
- 5 Marital.; Legally married.
"Besides his four legitimate wives, the caliph had dozens of concubines."
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- 6 Relating to hereditary rights.
- 7 Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.
- 1 authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law wordnet
- 2 of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful wordnet
- 3 in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles wordnet
- 4 based on known statements or events or conditions wordnet
- 1 A person born to a legally married couple.
"But should a “holy alliance of legitimates” extinguish it, it will be but for a season."
- 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. transitive
- 2 make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone) wordnet
- 3 show or affirm to be just and legitimate wordnet
- 4 make legal wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from Latin lēx (“law”). Originally "lawfully begotten". The noun was derived from the adjective within English or earlier by substantivization (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), the verb from the adjective by conversion (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)).
From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from Latin lēx (“law”). Originally "lawfully begotten". The noun was derived from the adjective within English or earlier by substantivization (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), the verb from the adjective by conversion (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)).
From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from Latin lēx (“law”). Originally "lawfully begotten". The noun was derived from the adjective within English or earlier by substantivization (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), the verb from the adjective by conversion (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)).
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