What does illegitimacy mean?
Illegitimacy is a formal noun meaning the condition of lacking recognized legal, moral, or political legitimacy. Its historically prominent sense refers to the status of a child born outside a legally recognized marriage, a category that was formerly associated with legal and social discrimination. In political and institutional contexts, illegitimacy describes a government, regime, process, or claim that is considered unauthorized, unjustified, or incompatible with accepted principles. The word can carry a strong evaluative tone, suggesting more than a minor irregularity: it implies a serious defect in status or authority. Because contemporary discussion often treats the older legal and social distinctions surrounding non-marital birth with suspicion, modern speakers may prefer more neutral descriptions such as birth outside marriage. Illegitimacy remains useful when discussing legal history, social prejudice, and questions of political authority.
nounIllegitimacy is the state or condition of being illegitimate, especially the status of a child born outside a legally recognized marriage. More broadly, it refers to the absence of legal or moral legitimacy in an authority, institution, claim, or process.
- The state of a child being born outside a legally recognized marriage.
- The lack of legal, moral, or political legitimacy in an authority, institution, claim, or process.
"The law once imposed significant disadvantages on children born in circumstances regarded as illegitimacy."
"The reform challenged the social consequences of illegitimacy."
"Opponents argued that the government lacked democratic legitimacy, a form of political illegitimacy."
What was once considered a legal stigma is now more often discussed as a historical and social prejudice.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does illegitimacy come from?
Illegitimacy was formed in English from the adjective illegitimate together with the noun-forming suffix -acy. The adjective comes from Latin legitimus, meaning lawful or valid, with the prefix il- expressing negation, and developed through French. The related English forms legitimate, legitimacy, and legitimize share the same Latin root, while the prefix in illegitimacy reverses its basic sense.
Related word forms
How illegitimacy is actually used
The term is relatively formal and is now more common in historical, legal, and political discussion than in everyday conversation. In the first sense, modern usage is often careful to describe a person's status rather than imply moral or social inferiority.
Easily confused with illegitimacy
Illegitimacy is the noun naming a state or condition, whereas illegitimate is the adjective describing something that lacks legal, moral, or political legitimacy.