Le*git"i*mate (-m&asl;t), a. [LL. legitimatus, p. p. of legitimare to legitimate, fr. L. legitimus legitimate. See Legal.] 1. Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.

2. Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.

3. Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.

4. Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.

Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic.

5. Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.

Le*git"i*mate (-māt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Legitimated (- mā`t&ebreve;d); p. pr. & vb. n. Legitimating (-mā`t&ibreve;ng).] To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child.

To enact a statute of that which he dares not seem to approve, even to legitimate vice.

• Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.
  
• Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.
  
• Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.
  
• Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.
  
• Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.
  
• To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child.