different between illicit vs illicitness

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French illicite, from Latin illicitus, from in- (“not”) + licitus (“allowed, permitted”), from licet (“it is allowed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?s?t/
• Rhymes: -?s?t
• Homophone: elicit

Adjective

illicit (comparative more illicit, superlative most illicit)

1. (law) Not approved by law, but not invalid.

   The bigamous marriage, while illicit, was not invalid.
2. Breaking social norms.
3. Unlawful.

Usage notes

Licit and valid are legal terms to be compared, especially in terms of canon law. With bigamy, if there is an innocent party, the innocent party is validly married; the problem is with the guilty party, who has entered into an illegal second marriage without first divorcing the earlier spouse. The marriage is valid in canon law (and often, civil law), but the guilty party goes to jail nonetheless, in that the marriage is illicit (and illegal), and the innocent party routinely receives a fast annulment and the full sympathy of the court. A corollary is that the children born of such unions are inherently legitimate.

Not to be confused with elicit.

Synonyms

• criminal
• illegal
• illegitimate
• prohibited
• unlawful

Translations

See also

• elicit

Noun

illicit (plural illicits)

1. A banned or unlawful item.

Anagrams

• illitic

Latin

Verb

illicit

1. third-person singular present active indicative of illici?

English

Etymology

illicit +? -ness

Noun

illicitness (uncountable)

1. The characteristic of being illicit.