Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that believes in or advocates rule by hereditary right.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who maintains or advocates legitimacy of any kind; especially, a supporter of legitimate authority; one who believes in the sacredness of hereditary monarchical government; a favorer of the doctrine of divine right. Specifically
  • noun In France, a supporter of the claim to the throne of the elder branch of the Bourbons, descendants of Louis XIV., in opposition to that of the Orleans family, descendants of the Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV.
  • noun In Spain, same as Carlist, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who supports legitimate authority; esp., one who believes in hereditary monarchy, as a divine right.
  • noun Specifically, a supporter of the claims of the elder branch of the Bourbon dynasty to the crown of France.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun historical A French royalist who believes that the King of France and Navarre must be chosen according to the simple application of the Salic law.
  • noun by extension Any proponent for the rule of a legitimate sovereign.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Many scraps of traditionary lore relative to the latter nobleman must linger in and about London, where he was the idol of the populace, as well as the leader of what we should now call the "legitimist" party.

    Notes and Queries, Number 24, April 13, 1850 Various

  • According to a "legitimist" fiction he pleads the service he had rendered to King Charles VI, and his son the Dauphin "_ ... tam propter sue persone debililitatem, quam etiam propter assidua viagia et ambassiatas, que ipse serviendo Carolo Francorum regi et Carolo, ejusdem regis unigenito filio, dalphino Viennensi ....

    The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 Anatole France 1884

  • The French Revolution soon ensued, and though the nobleman kept his head, he never got his patent: not from the republic, not from Napoleon (a “usurper” to whom the legitimist de Jouffroy would not even apply for a patent), not from the restored Bourbon monarchy and not from citizen-king Louis Philippe.

    1783: De Jouffrey’s Pyroscaphe « Skid Roche 2008

  • When the legitimist asks whether Corner Man really owns his corner, he is not asking whether Corner Man should own his corner.

    Jacobite history of the world « Isegoria 2008

  • The French Revolution soon ensued, and though the nobleman kept his head, he never got his patent: not from the republic, not from Napoleon (a “usurper” to whom the legitimist de Jouffroy would not even apply for a patent), not from the restored Bourbon monarchy and not from citizen-king Louis Philippe.

    1783: De Jouffrey’s Pyroscaphe « Skid Roche 2008

  • A legitimist association, the Chevaliers of Fidelity, stirred about among these the republican affiliations.

    Les Miserables 2008

  • The French Revolution soon ensued, and though the nobleman kept his head, he never got his patent: not from the republic, not from Napoleon (a "usurper" to whom the legitimist de Jouffroy would not even apply for a patent), not from the restored Bourbon monarchy and not from citizen-king Louis Philippe.

    July 15, 1783: Marquis Invents Steamboat, Misses Esteem Boat 2008

  • None the less did the old legitimist parties assail the Revolution of

    Les Miserables 2008

  • When that time came, the faubourg Saint – Germain still sulked, but it held intercourse with a few houses, regarding them as neutral ground, — among others that of the Austrian ambassador, where the legitimist society and the new social world met together in the persons of their best representatives.

    A Daughter of Eve 2007

  • Hisroyal master, King Wilhelm, was a profound legitimist; the old King was bound by intimate ties to each of the princely houses of Germany, and he felt the deepest reverencefor the traditions and prerogatives, for the very pedigrees and quarterings, of the venerable dynasties.

    FORGE OF EMPIRES 1861-1871 MICHAEL KNOX BERAN 2007

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