legitimate | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

32 entries found.

mid-15c., "so-called, not legitimate," past-participle adjective from pretend (v.).

Latin, literally "of law," thus "legitimate, lawful, by right of law, according to law." Jure is ablative of ius "law" (see de + just (adj.)).

contumacious (adj.)

"headstrong, insolent, resisting legitimate authority," c. 1600, from Latin contumaci-, stem of contumax "haughty, insolent, obstinate" (see contumely) + -ous. Related: Contumaciously; contumaciousness.

rightful (adj.)

Old English rihtful "disposed to do right;" see right (adj.1) + -ful. By late 13c. of actions, "in conformity to what is just or right." The sense of "legal, lawful, legitimate" is from early 14c. Related: Rightfully; rightfulness.

kosher (adj.)

"ritually fit or pure, clean, lawful, conforming to the requirements of the Talmud" (especially of food), 1850, in early use also kasher, coshar, from Yiddish kosher, from Hebrew kasher "fit, proper, lawful," from base of kasher "was suitable, proper." Generalized sense of "correct, legitimate" is from 1896.

contumacy (n.)

"willful and persistent resistance to legitimate authority," c. 1200, from Old French contumace and directly from Latin contumacia "perseverance in one's purpose or opinions," generally in a bad sense, "arrogance, inflexibility, haughtiness, insolence," also especially "obstinate disobedience to a judicial order," abstract noun from stem of contumax (see contumely).

wire-tapping (n.)

also wiretapping, "surreptitiously obtaining information by connecting wires to telegraph (later telephone) lines and establishing an intermediate station between two legitimate ones," 1878, from wire (n.) + agent noun from tap (v.2). Earliest references often are to activity during the American Civil War, but the phrase does not seem to have been used at that time. Related: Wire-tap; wire-tapper.

Cambridge

city in eastern England, Old English Grontabricc (c. 745) "Bridge on the River Granta" (a Celtic river name, of obscure origin). The change to Cante- and later Cam- was due to Norman influence. The river name Cam is a back-formation in this case, but Cam also was a legitimate Celtic river name, meaning "crooked." The university dates to 1209. Cambridge in Massachusetts, U.S., originally was New Towne but was renamed 1638 after the founding there of Harvard College, John Harvard being a graduate of Cambridge in England.

disloyalty (n.)

"want of loyalty, unfaithful behavior," early 15c., disloialte, from a variant of Old French desloiaute, desleauté "disloyalty, faithlessness, marital infidelity," from desloial, desleal "treacherous, false, deceitful" (Modern French déloyal), from des- "not, opposite of" (see dis-) + loial "of good quality; faithful; honorable; law-abiding; legitimate, born in wedlock," from Latin legalem, from lex "law" (see legal). Since c. 1600 especially "violation of allegiance or duty to a state or sovereign."

disloyal (adj.)

early 15c. (implied in disloyally), "not true to one's allegiance" (to a sovereign, state, or government), from Old French desloial, desleal "treacherous, false, deceitful" (Modern French déloyal), from des- "not, opposite of" (see dis-) + loial "of good quality; faithful; honorable; law-abiding; legitimate, born in wedlock," from Latin legalem, from lex "law" (see legal). Sometimes also "not true to one's obligations or engagements," especially to a lover, spouse, or friend, (late 15c.), but this sense is rare.

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