Legitimation
//lɪdʒɪtɪˈmeɪʃ(ə)n// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The process of making or declaring a person legitimate. uncountable, usually
- 2 the act of making lawful wordnet
- 3 Legitimacy. obsolete, uncountable, usually
"I am not Sir Roberts sonne, / I haue disclaim'd Sir Robert and my land, / Legitimation, name, and all is gone […]."
- 4 the act of rendering a person legitimate wordnet
- 5 The act of establishing something as lawful; authorization. uncountable, usually
"Le Paige established a legitimation for the Parlement's authority which was part history, part romantic fiction, and part political wishful thinking."
Example
More examples"I am not Sir Roberts sonne, / I haue disclaim'd Sir Robert and my land, / Legitimation, name, and all is gone […]."
Etymology
From Middle English legittimacion, from Middle French legitimacion and its etymon, Medieval Latin lēgitimātiō, lēgitimātiōnem, from lēgitimāre (“to legitimate”), from Latin lēgitimus.
Related phrases
More for "legitimation"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.