Legality vs. Legitimacy — What's the Difference?

Legality can be defined as an act, agreement, or contract that is consistent with the law or state of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, legality is 1 : attachment to or observance of law.

The quality or fact of being legitimate.

The state or quality of being legal; lawfulness.

The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.

Adherence to or observance of the law.

Lawfulness of birth or origin; directness of descent as affecting the royal succession.

Often legalities A requirement of law.

The state, or quality, of being legitimate, or in conformity with law; hence, the condition of having been lawfully begotten, or born in wedlock.

Lawfulness.

Lawfulness by virtue of being authorized or in accordance with law

A dice game; the same as chuck-a-luck.

Undisputed credibility

The state or quality of being legal; conformity to law.

A conformity to, and resting upon, the letter of the law.

Lawfulness by virtue of conformity to a legal statute