legitimate

The story

1. Latin · derived fromlēx“law”
2. Latin · derived fromlēgitimus“lawful”
3. Latin · derived fromlēgitimō“to make legal”
4. Medieval Latin · derived fromlēgitimātus
5. Middle English · inherited fromlegitimat
6. English todaylegitimate

From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from Latin lēx (“law”). Originally "lawfully begotten". The noun was derived from the adjective within English or earlier by substantivization (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), the verb from the adjective by conversion (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from mid-14th c. Lawfully begotten, i.e. born to a married couple or later legitimated.
• from 1590 To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means.