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Glite Dictionary
lawfully-begotten

lawfully-begotten

8.9
A child who is born to parents who are legally married
  • adjective
  • /ˈlɔːfəlɪ bɪˈɡɒtən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : legítimo
  • In Victorian society, great importance was placed on being lawfully-begotten.

Examples

  • He was recognized as the lawfully-begotten son of the nobleman.

  • He is a lawfully-begotten child.

  • Under the law, only lawfully-begotten children could inherit the estate.

  • Many people believe that all children should be lawfully-begotten.

  • The lawfully-begotten children were entitled to inherit their father's estate.

  • She was proud to be the lawfully-begotten daughter of two loving parents.

  • In the eyes of the law, only lawfully-begotten children could claim the family name.

Synonyms

trueborn
vslawfully-begotten
  • Archaic
1 7.4

A person whose parents were married when they were born

is the same meaning but written as a hyphenated phrase

Antonyms

illegitimate
  • Formal
39 6.1

A child or marriage not recognized by law because the parents were not married

Surface Forms

lawfully-begotten positive

Morphology

lawfully-begotten = lawfully + begotten (transparent) = lawfully + begotten

The phrase combines 'lawfully' ('in accordance with law') and 'begotten' ('born/produced'), directly indicating a child born according to the law.

Etymology

Lawfully-begotten comes from two parts: lawfully ('by the law') and begotten, from the old verb beget meaning 'to father' or 'to cause to be born'. So a lawfully-begotten child is one born 'by the law' to married parents, which is why it means a legitimate child who could inherit.