legitimate
• adjective /lijittim t/ 1 conforming to the law or to rules. 2 able to be defended with logic or justification: a legitimate excuse. 3 (of a child) born of parents lawfully married to each other. 4 (of a sovereign) having a title based on strict hereditary right. • verb /lijittimayt/ make legitimate. — DERIVATIVES legitimacy noun legitimately adverb legitimation noun. — ORIGIN from Latin legitimare ‘make legal’.
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