illegitimacy
7
7.2
- noun
- /ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪməsi/
- Formal
:
ilegítimo
- Many people believe that the stigma surrounding illegitimacy negatively affects the lives of children born outside of marriage.
- illegitimacy rate
- illegitimacy ratio
- high illegitimacy rate
Examples
-
The illegitimacy ratio among blacks rose from 24 percent to a current 63.5 percent.
Academic text (1992) -
Compared with some other Western societies, of course, illegitimacy ratios in the United States today are not exceptional.
Academic text (1991) -
In some areas, the illegitimacy rate tops 80 percent.
Academic text (1992) -
Illegitimacy has been reported on the rise in virtually all Western countries over the past generation.
Academic text (1991) -
Different patterns of parental behavior, however, appear to be associated with illegitimacy in Sweden and in the United States.
Academic text (1991) -
By contrast, illegitimacy and divorce are comparatively rare in the white middle and upper classes.
Academic text (2003) -
Much the same story exists in every West Indian nation where the illegitimacy rate ranges from 35 to 72 percent.
Academic text (2002) -
The illegitimacy ratio in the highest infant-mortality areas, moreover, was significantly higher than the black national average.
Academic text (1991) -
Since 1960, childbearing in the United States has been profoundly affected by a sweeping change in patterns of illegitimacy.
Academic text (1991) -
Their arguments focused on personal behaviors—illegitimacy and a lack of work ethic—as the source of the enlarged social programs.
Academic text (1995)
Synonyms
1
9.9
Being born to parents who are not married, often causing social or legal problems
The condition of being born to parents who are not married
The state of being born to parents who are not married
Being born to parents who were not married
How Legitimate
- Formal
- Formal
50
2.8
- US
42
4.2
- Formal
7
7.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
illegitimacy = illegitimate (transparent) = il + legitimate + acy
The noun is a regular nominalization of 'illegitimate' indicating the state or condition; the specific sense referring to birth status is a conventional extension of 'illegitimate'.
Etymology
Illegitimacy comes from the beginning il- 'not' and legit 'lawful', and long ago a 'legitimate' child meant one born to a legal marriage. So, illegitimacy came to mean being born to parents who were not married.