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legitimate
8 dictionary results for: legitimate
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
le·git·i·mate       [adj., n. li-jit-uh-mit; v. li-jit-uh-meyt] Pronunciation Key adjective, verb, -mat·ed, -mat·ing, noun
–adjective
1.according to law; lawful: the property's legitimate owner.
2.in accordance with established rules, principles, or standards.
3.born in wedlock or of legally married parents: legitimate children.
4.in accordance with the laws of reasoning; logically inferable; logical: a legitimate conclusion.
5.resting on or ruling by the principle of hereditary right: a legitimate sovereign.
6.not spurious or unjustified; genuine: It was a legitimate complaint.
7.of the normal or regular type or kind.
8.Theater. of or pertaining to professionally produced stage plays, as distinguished from burlesque, vaudeville, television, motion pictures, etc.: an actor in the legitimate theater.
–verb (used with object)
9.to make lawful or legal; pronounce or state as lawful: Parliament legitimated his accession to the throne.
10.to establish as lawfully born: His bastard children were afterward legitimated by law.
11.to show or declare to be legitimate or proper: He was under obligation to legitimate his commission.
12.to justify; sanction or authorize: His behavior was legitimated by custom.
–noun
13.the legitimate, the legitimate theater or drama.
14.a person who is established as being legitimate.
[Origin: 1485–95; < ML légitimātus (ptp. of légitimāre to make lawful). See legitim, -ate1]

—Related forms
le·git·i·mate·ly, adverb
le·git·i·mate·ness, noun
le·git·i·ma·tion, noun

—Synonyms 1. legal, licit. 2. sanctioned. 4. valid. 9. legalize.
—Antonyms 1. illegitimate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
le·git·i·mate       (lə-jĭt'ə-mĭt)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Being in compliance with the law; lawful: a legitimate business.
  2. Being in accordance with established or accepted patterns and standards: legitimate advertising practices.
  3. Based on logical reasoning; reasonable: a legitimate solution to the problem.
  4. Authentic; genuine: a legitimate complaint.
  5. Born of legally married parents: legitimate issue.
  6. Of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right: a legitimate monarch.
  7. 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 make legitimate, as:
a. To give legal force or status to; make lawful.


[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.]

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.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
legitimate 
1494, "having the status of one lawfully begotten," from M.L. legitimatus, pp. of legitimare "make lawful, declare to be lawful," from L. legitimus "lawful," originally "in line with the law," from lex (gen. legis) "law." Transferred sense of "genuine, real" is attested from 1818. Shortened form legit is first recorded 1897 in theater slang.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
legitimate

adjective
1. of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful [ant: chlorophyceae] 
2. based on known statements or events or conditions; "rain was a logical expectation, given the time of year" 
3. in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles; "legitimate advertising practices" 
4. authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law; "a legitimate government" [syn: lawful] 

verb
1. make legal; "Marijuana should be legalized" [syn: legalize] [ant: criminalise] 
2. show or affirm to be just and legitimate 
3. make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone); "They legitimized their natural child" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: le·git·i·mate
Pronunciation: l&-'ji-t&-m&t
Function: adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to give legal status to, from Latin legitimus legally sanctioned, from leg-, lex law
1 : conceived or born of parents lawfully married to each other or having been made through legal procedure equal in status to one so conceived or born; also : having rights and obligations under the law as the child of such birth
2 : being neither spurious nor false legitimate grievance>
3 : being in accordance with law or with established legal forms and requirements legitimate government>
4 : conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards legitimate claim of entitlement> legitimate business reason> —le·git·i·mate·ly adverb

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: le·git·i·mate
Pronunciation: l&-'ji-t&-"mAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -mat·ed; -mat·ing
: to make legitimate: as a : to give legal status or authorization to b : to show or affirm to be justified or have merit c : to put (an illegitimate child) in the state of a child born of married parents before the law by legal means —compare FILIATE —le·git·i·ma·tion /l&-"ji-t&-'mA-sh&n/ noun

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Legitimate

Le*git"i*mate\ (-m[asl]t), a. [LL. legitimatus, p. p. of legitimare to legitimate, fr. L. legitimus legitimate. See Legal.]

1. Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.

2. Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.

3. Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.

4. Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.

Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic. --Macaulay.

5. Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Legitimate

Le*git"i*mate\ (-m[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Legitimated (-m[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Legitimating (-m[=a]`t[i^]ng).] To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child.

To enact a statute of that which he dares not seem to approve, even to legitimate vice. --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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