English → Latin
“illegitimate” in Latin
contrāriusopposite, opposed, contrary, conflicting, witherwarddūrushard; rough; harsh; hardy; vigorousinūsitātusunusual, uncommon, extraordinary
The English word illegitimate itself goes back to Latin lēgitimus, through illēgitimus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
illegitimate
Bastard, Vid: Add hibrida (PROP.; “mongrel;” also of a person born, e.g., of a Roman citizen and foreign woman or slave).
Not legitimate, correct, etc., non legitimus (☞ Not illegitimus): *legi repugnans or contrarius. An illegitimate word, verbum insolens, durum, inusitatum, barbarum et obsoletum, etc.: an illegitimate inference, *vitiosa conclusio (after vitiose concludere, Cic.): *rationis parum apta conclusio (after Cic., ap. Quint., 9, 1, 28, rationis apta conclusio): *non or parum certa argumenti conclusio (after Quint., 5, 10, 2): to draw an illegitimate inference, vitiose concludere (opposed to recte concludere, Cic.). To make an illegitimate use of anything, aliqua re perverse abuti. Vid: ILLOGICAL.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for illegitimate?
- The usual Latin words for “illegitimate” are contrārius, dūrus, inūsitātus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.