Delegitimise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Stripping an institution, claim, or leader of their rightful standing, so that they are no longer accepted as lawful or valid
2. Undermining the recognized authority or rightful status of a government, system, or person until it is regarded as illegitimate
3. Making something appear unlawful, unjustified, or unworthy of acceptance by discrediting its foundations and claim to rightful power

Etymology: "Delegitimise" is a straightforward formation: the prefix "de-" attached to "legitimise." The prefix comes from Latin "de," meaning "down," "away," or "off," and it has passed into English directly through Latin rather than through French. In the word's case, it reverses the action of its base, so to delegitimise something is to strip away its legitimacy. The base word, "legitimise," is the more interesting half. It derives from "legitimus," a Latin adjective meaning "lawful," built from "lex" (law). Over the centuries, "legitimate" accumulated the sense of being rightfully born in wedlock, and the verb "legitimise" grew from that legal and social vocabulary, meaning to make something lawful or to confer recognised status on it. Because "delegitimise" is simply a prefix added to an existing English verb, it needs no separate coinage story. Its meaning follows directly from the parts: "de-" reverses or removes, and "legitimise" describes conferring lawful standing, so the whole word means to remove that standing.

Synonyms: discredit, delegitimize, undermine, invalidate, disempower

Antonyms: legitimise, legitimize, validate, authorise, legitimate