Illegitimate

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Illegitimate

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective and noun

Pronunciation

il-ih-JIT-ih-mut  /ɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/

Definition

Not authorised by law or accepted rules; not in accordance with accepted standards; born to parents who were not married to each other (the historical and now largely archaic sense); (of a logical argument) invalid or not following from premises.

Plain meaning

Illegitimate means not legitimate — not lawful, not authorised, or not following accepted rules. An illegitimate government came to power through unlawful means. An illegitimate argument is logically invalid. Historically, an illegitimate child was one born outside marriage — a term now considered outdated and offensive. The word covers anything that lacks proper authority or lawful basis.

Register

Formal and legal in most uses. The birth sense is now considered archaic, offensive, or inappropriately judgmental in most contexts. The political and legal senses — illegitimate government, illegitimate power, illegitimate means — are standard in formal political and legal discourse.