illegitimacy

American  

[il-i-jit-uh-muh-see] / ˌɪl ɪˈdʒɪt ə mə si /

noun

plural

illegitimacies

1. the state or quality of being illegitimate.

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illegitimacy Cultural  

1. The condition of being born to unmarried parents. It was once considered a mark of disgrace but is generally more accepted now.

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Etymology

Origin of illegitimacy

First recorded in 1670–80; illegitim(ate) + -acy

Example Sentences

The University of Washington appears to have enshrined an orthodoxy about the illegitimacy of its own existence.

From The Wall Street Journal

He also insisted that Iran's doctrine was "rooted in our belief in the prohibition and illegitimacy of nuclear weapons".

From BBC

"This is a losing proposition all around. The Judiciary will lose much from the constant intimations of its illegitimacy," he wrote.

From Salon

As I was reading the book, I remembered the illegitimacy I felt as a child when I realized my parents were unwed.

From Los Angeles Times

Those residents, he said, most of them teenagers, internalize a message of illegitimacy at a particularly tender time of emotional development, when they are building their sense of self.

From New York Times