# legitimate

Pronunciation: say "li-JIT-i-muht" /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/

## Adjective

1. Authentic and genuine; not fake or counterfeit.
   - Simple: Real and not fake.
   - _Experts confirmed the manuscript was legitimate, not a forgery._
   - _Buyers want proof that the watch is a legitimate luxury brand._
2. Conforming to accepted rules, principles, or standards; valid.
   - Simple: Following the accepted rules, so it is correct and proper.
   - _The referee ruled the goal legitimate under the competition's rules._
   - _Critics raised legitimate questions about the study's methods._
3. Permitted by law, or carried out in the way that established legal rules and procedures require.
   - Simple: Allowed by the law and done in a legal way.
   - _Investigators confirmed the funds came from legitimate sources._
   - _Only legitimate license holders may operate the equipment._
4. Born to a married couple, or made lawful afterward through legal recognition.
   - Simple: Born to parents who are married to each other.
   - _Under old inheritance laws, only legitimate heirs received the estate._
   - _Her parents married before her birth, so she was legitimate in the eyes of the law._
5. Joined in a marriage recognized by law.
   - Simple: Joined together as husband and wife under the law.
   - _The documents named her as his legitimate wife._
   - _He introduced her as his legitimate spouse at the gathering._
8. Relating to professional live stage drama, especially spoken plays, as distinct from musicals, vaudeville, or film.
   - Simple: Relating to plays performed live by actors on a stage, not movies or musicals.
   - _After years in television, the actor returned to the legitimate stage._
   - _Critics praised her move into legitimate theater._
9. Relating to a rightful claim inherited through family descent, as to a throne, title, or estate.
   - Simple: Having a rightful claim passed down through a family, such as to a throne or title.
   - _The legitimate heir was crowned after his father's death._
   - _Rival families disputed who held the legitimate claim to the duchy._

## Noun

6. A person born to a couple who are legally married.
   - Simple: A child born to parents who are married to each other.
   - _As the sole legitimate, she received the entire inheritance._
   - _The old laws favored a legitimate over any child born outside marriage._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "li-JIT-i-mayt" /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.meɪt/

7. To make something lawful or valid, especially to give a person the legal status of one born within marriage.
   - Simple: To make something lawful, or to give a child full legal rights.
   - _The government moved to legitimate the new currency._
   - _A later statute legitimated all children of the union._

## Origin

From Middle English legitimat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, the past participle of Latin lēgitimō ("to make legal"), from lēgitimus ("lawful") and ultimately from lēx ("law"). It originally meant "lawfully begotten," and the noun and verb later developed from the adjective within English.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/legitimate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).