Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “illegitime” come from?

illegitime (Middle French) comes from Latin illegitimus, from Latin lēgitimus, from Latin lēx, from Proto-Italic lēg-, from Proto-Indo-European leǵ-s, from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- — to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Ancestry of “illegitime”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinillegitimusunlawful, illegal, illegitimate; non-legal;...
2Latinlēgitimus—
3Latinlēx—
4Proto-Italiclēg-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →