legitimacy
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of legitimacy
First recorded in 1685–95; legitim(ate) + -acy
Explanation
The noun legitimacy means authenticity. If you found an old copy of the Gettysburg Address in your grandmother's attic, you'd have to question its legitimacy when you realized it was written on the back of a car advertisement. Legitimacy comes from the Latin verb legitimare, which means lawful. Legitimacy, then, refers to something that is legal because it meets the specific requirements of the law. The legitimacy of various countries' presidential elections is often discussed, with monitors keeping track of the voting procedures to make sure they follow all the necessary rules.
Vocabulary lists containing legitimacy
Power Suffix: -acy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In effect, the body is frozen and it’s legitimacy undermined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Its apparent legitimacy, officials said, rested on a single forged document - an appointment letter claiming that President Bola Tinubu had made Adeyemi the council's director general.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
From the Sussex perspective, a picture would be a sign of their legitimacy as part of the family.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Raskin told ProPublica that the court’s legitimacy has fallen with every significant decision made without “real opinions or analysis.”
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
It was also a public event, the beginning of a process whereby new knowledge, in opposition to the old culture of secrecy, established its legitimacy within a public arena.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
