Etymology

illegitimate

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Today it means: Not conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards. Full definition →

Latin illēgitimus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromillēgitimus
  2. English todayillegitimate

First attested in 1536, from Latin illēgitimus, most likely an adapted borrowing of Middle French illegitime, equivalent to il- + legitimate, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.