- legitimize
- legitimize (v.) 1795, from L. legitimus (see LEGITIMATE (Cf. legitimate)) + -IZE (Cf. -ize). Earlier was legitimatize (1791). Related: Legitimized; legitimizing.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
legitimize
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legitimize — le‧git‧i‧mize [lɪˈdʒɪtmaɪz] also legitimise verb [transitive] 1. to make something legal or official that had not been before: • He hopes to legitimize private ownership of toll roads in California. 2. to make something acceptable or popular: •… … Financial and business terms
legitimize — le·git·i·mize /lə ji tə ˌmīz/ vt mized, miz·ing: legalize legitimate Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. legitimize … Law dictionary
Legitimize — Le*git i*mize (l[ e]*j[i^]t [i^]*m[imac]z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Legitimized} ( m[imac]zd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Legitimizing}.] To legitimate. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
legitimize — (Amer.) v. make something lawful, authorize, legalize (also legitimise) … English contemporary dictionary
legitimize — (also legitimatise) ► VERB ▪ make legitimate. DERIVATIVES legitimization noun … English terms dictionary
legitimize — [lə jit′əmīz΄] vt. legitimized, legitimizing 1. to make or declare legitimate; specif., a) to make lawful; give legal force or status to b) to give official or formal sanction to; authorize c) to give the status of a legitimate child to (one born … English World dictionary
legitimize — legitimate, legitimize 1. As a verb, legitimate is pronounced with the last syllable as ayt and means ‘to make legitimate or legal’. It competes in both BrE and AmE with legitimize, which is the only form used in the meaning ‘to make (a child)… … Modern English usage
legitimize — le|git|i|mize also legitimise BrE [lıˈdʒıtımaız] v [T] [Date: 1800 1900; : Latin; Origin: legitimus; LEGITIMATE] 1.) to make something that is unfair or morally wrong seem acceptable and right ▪ There is a danger that these films legitimize… … Dictionary of contemporary English
legitimize — UK [lɪˈdʒɪtəmaɪz] / US [ləˈdʒɪtəˌmaɪz] verb [transitive] Word forms legitimize : present tense I/you/we/they legitimize he/she/it legitimizes present participle legitimizing past tense legitimized past participle legitimized 1) to make something… … English dictionary
legitimize — [[t]lɪʤɪ̱tɪmaɪz[/t]] legitimizes, legitimizing, legitimized VERB (The spellings legitimise in British English, and legitimatize in American English are also used.) To legitimize something, especially something bad, means to officially allow it,… … English dictionary
