Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - legitimate

 I. adjective  Etymology: Middle English legitimat, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to ~, from Latin legitimus ~, from leg-, lex law  Date: 15th century  1.  a. lawfully begotten; specifically born in wedlock  b. having full filial rights and obligations by birth a ~ child  2. being exactly as purposed ; neither spurious nor false a ~ grievance a ~ practitioner  3.  a. accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements a ~ government  b. ruling by or based on the strict principle of hereditary right a ~ king  4. conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards a ~ advertising expenditure a ~ inference  5. relating to plays acted by professional actors but not including revues, burlesque, or some forms of musical comedy the ~ theater  Synonyms: see lawful  • ~ly adverb  II. transitive verb  (-mated; -mating)  Date: 1531 to make ~:  a.  (1) to give legal status or authorization to  (2) to show or affirm to be justified  (3) to lend authority or respectability to  b. to put (a bastard) in the state of a ~ child before the law by legal means  • legitimation noun  • legitimator noun