Illegitimate? Which one? How does it relate to the "legitimate"? What is the meaning of the word “illegitimate”, and where did it come from?
For starters, this is an adjective of the first declension. The root is legitimate. The word is crowned with the semantic prefix ne-, negating the content of the root - turning it into the antonym of itself.
Origin of the word
It comes from the Latin legitimus - “legal”, which, in turn, came from the genitive case of the word lex - “law”.
Is book vocabulary or neologism, which came from sociology.
Most often used in the dictionary of legal lawyers and political scientists.
Legitimate Ruler: Monarch
There is a pretty big difference that is important to understand. An illegitimate ruler in a monarchy and an illegitimately elected representative of power in a republic are two different things.
What does “illegitimate monarch” mean?
This is a ruler who received his power not as a result of established traditional norms (for example, by inheritance), but bypassing the law. Most often, it implies a violent seizure of power, a coup (as, for example, in the case of Catherine II).
However, sometimes, despite legal compliance, the ruler is still recognized as illegitimate by the general mass of people. So it was, for example, with Prince Vladislav, who legally had the right to the royal throne of Muscovy.
This peculiarity is explained by the factor that a legitimate monarch must be elected in accordance with traditions, and only then take into account legal norms. In such situations, it was often the sympathy of the people that played the decisive role, which legitimized the monarch’s right to his throne, transferring power over himself in his will.
An illegitimate ruler: a representative of power in an elected position
The word “illegitimate” has a different meaning under the republican form of government. The sympathies of the people in the republic have the most direct meaning. A republic is a form of government in which power is elected. Consequently, the will of the masses does not need to be supported by traditional norms.
Therefore, the only sign of legitimacy in the republic is compliance with the law. It follows that the illegitimate, for example, president, will be considered one who refuses to transfer the presidency after losing the election. Or he rigs the election results in one way or another to get a post.
Any governor, mayor, senator who acts in this way will also be considered illegitimate.
Variations of election fraud include black PR of his rival, direct purchase of votes, hacking of counting boxes to change the results, and the introduction of false (not coming from real people, which is possible by secret ballot) ballots in order to change the ratio of votes.
Thus, the meaning of the word “illegitimate” is unauthorized, not in accordance with the law.