Illegitimation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of rendering something as not legitimate involves social or legal recognition and implies a formal rejection of validity or authority
2. The process by which a person or entity is deemed unfit for recognition under law or societal norms signifies a loss of legitimacy
3. The process of officially denying the legitimacy of something, removing its accepted legal or social status

Etymology: "Illegitimation" is built from "illegitimate" plus the suffix "-ation," which turns an adjective into a noun for a process or act. "Illegitimate" itself comes from the Latin "illegitimus," meaning "not lawful," formed from the prefix "il-" (a form of "in-," "not") and "legitimus," "lawful," which in turn derives from "lex," "law." The English adjective, which has long meant "born outside marriage" as well as "not conforming to law," entered the language in the 16th century. The noun is a much later formation. Dictionaries record it in the 19th century, when English writers needed a term for the act of stripping someone or something of legitimate standing, rather than for the quality of being illegitimate. Its use stays mostly in legal, political and scholarly writing, where it describes a deliberate or gradual process by which a government, institution or claimant loses recognition.