legitimate

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Legitimate

To make lawful, such as when a child is born prior to the parents' marriage and they subsequently wed and thereby confer upon the child the same legal status as those born in lawful wedlock.

That which is lawful, legal, recognized by law, or in accordance with law, such as legitimate children or legitimate authority; real, valid, or genuine.

Cross-references

Illegitimacy.

legitimate

adj., adv.: 1) legal, proper, real. 2) referring to a child born to parents who are married. A baby born to parents who are not married is illegitimate, but can be made legitimate (legitimatized) by the subsequent marriage of the parents. 3) v. to make proper and/or legal.

legitimate

(Lawfully conceived), adjective born in wedlock, born of parents legally married, conceived of parrnts legally married, natural, of lawful parentage, sired in wedlock
Associated concepts: legitimate issue

legitimate

(Rightful), adjective according to law, allowed, authorized, constitutional, enacted, genuine, in accordance with law, in accordance with legal provisions, juristic, law-abiding, lawful, legal, legalized, legislated, licit, mandated, official, real, recognized by law, rightful, sanctioned, sanctioned by custom, sanctioned by law, sanctioned by legal authority, sound, statutable, valid, well-founded, well-grounded, within the law
Associated concepts: legitimate business, legitimate heirs, legitimate purpose, legitimate title

legitimate

verb approve, authorize, certify, declare lawful, legalize, legitimatize, make lawful, make legal, make legitimate, sanction, validate

legitimate

authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law.

LEGITIMATE. That which is according to law; as, legitimate children, are lawful children, born in wedlock, in contradistinction to bastards; legitimate authority, or lawful power, in opposition to usurpation.

References in periodicals archive ?

The legitimate aim cannot be related to age discrimination itself.

YOUR VIEW; Today Joe Michna, Manager at Citizens Advice Hartlepool, is talking retirement law..

The Labor Code and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Department Orders 10 (Series of 1997), 18-02 (Series of 2002) and 18-A (Series of 2011) guarantee legitimate contracting or subcontracting arrangements.

Philippines : DTI to legitimate contractors: Police your ranks

On the Saturday of a legitimate two-day weekend, you can do boring things like buy veggies and groceries and shout at the dhobi, etc.

Civil War

Federal legislation to curb rogue sites should be based, according to NACDS, on three important criteria: careful definitions, steering clear of redundant mandates and the avoidance of additional certification requirements for legitimate sites.

How to stop illegal drug sales

Just like legitimate money-wiring operations, hawala often is contained within another community business, such as an ethnic market or travel agency, or run by freelancers who operate autonomously in the community.

Dealing with hawala: informal financial centers in the ethnic community

At the same time, even a legitimate defense of national security does not absolve a power of moral responsibility for the outcomes of its "precision" military strikes.

What is it good for? Bombing Beirut will do absolutely nothing to solve the problems plaguing the Holy Land

However, skeptics maintain that the real business of any MLM company, legitimate or otherwise, is cashing in on the recruitment of new distributors who are unlikely to turn a profit themselves.

Greening up the downline: multi-level marketing comes of age

Indeed, it was precisely the variegated threats posed by decentralized bodies of fighting men in the high middle ages--brigands, mercenaries, pirates, and even feudal lords themselves--that prompted the just war tradition to further limit the scope of justified violence by narrowing legitimate authority and enhancing non-combatant immunity.

Can a war against terror be just? Or, what is just war good for?

multinational avails itself of legitimate tax planning--properly aligned with the business objectives and properly documented--or find itself at a disadvantage relative to its competitors.

Foreign tax strategies can be boon to multinationals: opportunities abound for multinational companies to take advantage of low-tax foreign jurisdictions to structure tax-advantaged programs. A number of countries provide major incentives to locate within their borders

Both exporting and importing countries also need to exercise due diligence in authenticating end-user certificates to ensure that exported arms are destined for a legitimate end-user.

Small arms and light weapons

Visit the business's Web site to obtain a legitimate phone number or e-mail address.