legitimate

le·git·i·mate

 (lə-jĭt′ə-mĭt)

adj.

1.

a. Being in compliance with the law; lawful: a legitimate business.

b. Being in accordance with established or accepted rules and standards: legitimate advertising practices.

c. Valid or justifiable: a legitimate complaint.

d. Based on logical reasoning: a legitimate deduction.

2. Born of legally married parents: legitimate offspring.

3. Of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right: a legitimate monarch.

4. Of or relating to drama of high professional quality that excludes burlesque, vaudeville, and some forms of musical comedy: the legitimate theater.

tr.v. (-māt′) le·git·i·mat·ed, le·git·i·mat·ing, le·git·i·mates

To legitimize.

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[Middle English legitimat, born in wedlock, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, law-worthy, past participle of lēgitimāre, to make lawful, from Latin lēgitimus, legitimate, from lēx, lēg-, law; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

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le·git′i·mate·ly adv.

le·git′i·mate·ness n.

le·git′i·ma′tion n.

le·git′i·mat′or (-māt′ər) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

legitimate

adj

1. born in lawful wedlock; enjoying full filial rights

2. conforming to established standards of usage, behaviour, etc

3. based on correct or acceptable principles of reasoning

4. reasonable, sensible, or valid: a legitimate question.

5. (Law) authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law

6. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right: a legitimate monarch.

7. (Theatre) of or relating to a body of famous long-established plays as distinct from films, television, vaudeville, etc: the legitimate theatre.

vb

(tr) to make, pronounce, or show to be legitimate

[C15: from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus made legal, from lēx law]

leˈgitimacy, leˈgitimateness n

leˈgitimately adv

leˌgitiˈmation n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

le•git•i•mate

(adj., n. lɪˈdʒɪt ə mɪt; v. -ˌmeɪt)

adj., v. -mat•ed, -mat•ing,
n. adj.

1. according to law; lawful: the property's legitimate owner.

2. in accordance with established rules, principles, or standards.

3. born of legally married parents: legitimate children.

4. in accordance with the laws of reasoning; valid; logical: a legitimate conclusion.

5. resting on or ruling by the principle of hereditary right: a legitimate sovereign.

6. justified; genuine: a legitimate complaint.

7. of the normal or regular type or kind.

8. of or pertaining to professionally produced stage plays, as distinguished from burlesque, vaudeville, etc.

v.t.

9. to make lawful or legal; pronounce as lawful: Parliament legitimated her accession to the throne.

10. to confer legitimacy upon (a bastard).

11. to show or declare to be legitimate or proper.

12. to justify; sanction or authorize.

n.

13. a person who is established as being legitimate.

[1485–95; < Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, past participle of lēgitimāre to make lawful, derivative of Latin lēgitimus lawful, legal <lēg-, s. of lēx law]

le•git′i•mate•ly, adv.

le•git′i•mate•ness, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

legal

– lawful – legitimate

1. 'legal' and 'lawful'

Legal and lawful both mean 'allowed by law'. Lawful is a formal word.

A breath test showed he had drunk more than twice the legal limit for driving.

Capital punishment is legal in many countries.

Hunting is a lawful activity.

All his activities had been perfectly lawful.

2. 'legitimate'

Legitimate means 'correct or acceptable according to a law or rule'.

...a legitimate business transaction.

Legitimate can also mean 'justifiable under the circumstances'.

Religious leaders have a legitimate reason to be concerned.

If someone is legitimate, their parents were married at the time they were born.

...evidence that he was his father's legitimate son.

3. another meaning of 'legal'

Legal also means 'relating to the law'. You cannot use lawful or legitimate with this meaning.

...the British legal system.

...legal language.

4. 'law' in front of nouns

You use law, not 'legal', in front of a noun when you are talking about someone or something connected with the study of law.

...a law student.

He had only just received his law degree.

Law also appears in the names of some places and institutions connected with the law.

...the Law Courts.

...the Law Society.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

legitimate

Past participle: legitimated
Gerund: legitimating

Imperative

legitimate

legitimate

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	legitimate - make legal; "Marijuana should be legalized" decriminalise, decriminalize, legalise, legalize, legitimatise, legitimatize, legitimise, legitimize countenance, permit, allow, let - consent to, give permission; "She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband"; "I won't let the police search her basement"; "I cannot allow you to see your exam" monetise, monetize - give legal value to or establish as the legal tender of a country; "They monetized the lira"
	2.	legitimate - show or affirm to be just and legitimate vindicate, justify - show to be right by providing justification or proof; "vindicate a claim"
	3.	legitimate - make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone); "They legitimized their natural child" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
Adj.	1.	legitimate - of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful authorised, authorized - endowed with authority legal - established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules valid - well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force; "a valid inference"; "a valid argument"; "a valid contract" illegitimate - of marriages and offspring; not recognized as lawful
	2.	legitimate - based on known statements or events or conditions; "rain was a logical expectation, given the time of year" logical valid - well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force; "a valid inference"; "a valid argument"; "a valid contract"
	3.	legitimate - in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles; "legitimate advertising practices" constituted, established - brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established; "the established social order"; "distrust the constituted authority"; "a team established as a member of a major league"; "enjoyed his prestige as an established writer"; "an established precedent"; "the established Church"
	4.	legitimate - authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law; "a legitimate government" licit, lawful legal - established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

legitimate

adjective

1. lawful, real, true, legal, acknowledged, sanctioned, genuine, proper, authentic, statutory, authorized, rightful, kosher (informal), dinkum (Austral & N.Z. informal), legit (slang), licit They have demanded the restoration of the legitimate government.
lawful illegal, false, unlawful, fraudulent, illegitimate

2. reasonable, just, correct, sensible, valid, warranted, logical, justifiable, well-founded, admissible That's a perfectly legitimate fear.
reasonable unfair, unreasonable, unfounded, unjustified, unsound

verb

1. legitimize, allow, permit, sanction, authorize, legalize, give the green light to, legitimatize, pronounce lawful We want to legitimate this process by passing a law.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

legitimate

adjective

1. Within, allowed by, or sanctioned by the law:

innocent, lawful, legal, licit.

Slang: legit.

2. Being so legitimately:

rightful, true.

verb

To make lawful:

legalize, legitimatize, legitimize.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

شَرْعي

legitimnízákonný

ægtebarnlegitimlegitimtlovlig

ehelichgesetzlichlegitim

θεμιτόςνόμιμος

legítimojustificado

légitimeréelvéritablevraijuste

lögmæturskilgetinn

legittimolegittimare

paremtas įstatymais

laulībā dzimislikumīgs

ektefødtlegitim

upravičenzakonski

kanunîmeşruyasal

合法婚姻所生的合法的

legitimate

[lɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt]

A. ADJ

1. (= lawful) [government, right, power] → legítimo; [business] → legal
he has a legitimate claim to the property → tiene el derecho legítimo de reivindicar la propiedad

2. (= valid) [reason, argument, target] → válido; [complaint, conclusion] → justificado; [interest] → legítimo
it is perfectly legitimate to ask questions → preguntar está perfectamente justificado

3. (Jur) [son, daughter] → legítimo

B. VT = legitimize

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

legitimate

[lɪˈdʒɪtəmət] adj

(= accepted by law) [government, organization] → légitime

(= well-founded, valid) [feeling, fear] → légitime; [claim, complaint, reason] → légitime; [target] → légitime
to have a legitimate claim to sth → pouvoir légitimement prétendre à qch
They have legitimate claims to political asylum → Ils peuvent légitimement prétendre à l'asile politique.

(= born in wedlock) [child] → légitime

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

legitimate

adj

(= lawful) → rechtmäßig, legitim; rights, claim → legitim

(= reasonable) → berechtigt; excuse → begründet; reason → zulässig; target, purpose → legitim; his use of the company car was not legitimate → er war nicht berechtigt, den Firmenwagen zu benutzen; it’s perfectly legitimate to ask questions → es ist vollkommen in Ordnung, Fragen zu stellen; it’s legitimate for them to behave like that → sie dürfen sich so benehmen

(= born in wedlock) → ehelich

(Theat) the legitimate theatre → das traditionelle Sprechtheater

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

legitimate

[lɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt] adj (lawful) → legittimo/a; (argument, cause, excuse) → buono/a, valido/a; (complaint) → legittimo/a; (conclusion) → logico/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

legitimate

(liˈdʒitimət) adjective

1. lawful. Is this procedure perfectly legitimate? wettig شَرْعي законен legítimo zákonný gesetzlich lovlig; legitim νόμιμος, θεμιτόςlegítimo seaduslik مشروع laillinen légitimeחוקי वैध zakonit törvényes sah lögmætur legittimo 合法の 합법의 teisėtas, paremtas įstatymais likumīgs sah wettiglovlig, rettmessig, legitimprawowity, prawnie uzasadniony مشروع،د قانون په رڼا كښى legítimo legal законный zákonný zakonit zakonit legitim, laglig ตามหลักการหรือกฎเกณฑ์ที่ตั้งไว้ yasal, kanunî 合法的 законний; легітимний جائز hợp pháp 合法的

2. (of a child) born to parents who are married to each other. wettig شَرْعي законороден legítimo legitimní ehelich ægtebarn; legitimt νόμιμος, γνήσιοςlegítimo legitiimne حلال زاده avioliitossa syntynyt légitime יֶלֶד חוּקִי युक्ति-संगत zakonit törvényes sah skilgetinn legittimo 嫡出の 적출인 santuokinis laulībā dzimis sah wettigektefødtślubny د قانونى مور او پلار زيږنده ماشوم legítimo legitim законнорождённый legitímny zakonski zakonit äkta, inomäktenskaplig ลูกแท้ ๆ meşru, yasal 婚生的 законнонароджений حلالی hợp pháp 合法婚姻所生的

leˈgitimately adverb

wettiglik بصورةٍ شَرْعِيَّه законно legitimamente legitimně legitim lovligt; legitimt νόμιμαlegítimamente seaduslikult بطور مشروع و صحیح laillisesti légitimement בְּאוֹפֶן חוּקִי विधि-पूर्वक zakonito törvényesen secara sah á lögmætan hátt legittimamente 合法的に 합법적으로 teisėtai likumīgi secara sah wettig, rechtmatiglovlig, legitimtsłusznie, prawowicie په صحيح توګه legitimamente (în mod) legitim/legal законно legitímne zakonito zakonito legitimt ตามหลักการหรือกฎเกณฑ์ที่ตั้งไว้ yasal olarak 合法地，婚生地 законно; легітимно جائز طریقے سے một cách hợp pháp 合法地

leˈgitimacy noun

egtheid شَرْعِيَّه، مَشْروعِيَّه законност legitimidade zákonnost die Legitimität lovlighed; legitimitet νομιμότητα, γνησιότηταlegitimidad seaduslikkus مشروعیت laillisuus légitimitéחוקיות वैधता legitimnost törvényesség keabsahan lögmæti legittimità 合法性 합법성 teisėtumas likumība kesahan wettigheid, rechtmatigheidlovlighet, legitimitet, ektefødselsłuszność, prawne uzasadnienie مشروعيت legitimidade legitimitate законность zákonnosť legitimnost zakonitost legitimitet หลักการหรือกฎเกณฑ์ที่ตั้งไว้ meşruluk, yasallık 合法性，嫡出 законність جواز tính hợp pháp 合法性，正统

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

legitimate

a. legítimo-a, auténtico-a.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012