以上这些术语均与确任父亲身份事项相关。acknowledge为“认领”，指父亲认领自己的（非婚生）子女，承认其亲子关系，即 admission that the child is one's own [1]。legitimate 为“确立婚生地位”，是指确认（非婚生子女）婚生子女的法律地位， 由此将该子（女）立为嫡嗣[2]。而filiate则为“确定亲子关系”、指宣布某人为孩子的父（母）亲（特别指父亲），即法律上认可父（母）子（女）关系，除含对私生子的认领外，还包括收养关系的成立，如 Adopted children are filiated by the adoption proceeding (养子女与其父母的关系经收养程序予以确立）[3]。由上可知，legitimate和acknowledge各指一种认领或承认非婚生子女的行为，而filiate则强调从法律角度确定父子(女）之关系：Both legitimation and acknowledgement filiate an illegitimate child (确立婚生地位和认领均可使非婚生子女其与生父的关系得以确认）。,

[1] Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 16，West Publishing Co. (1991).

[2]“To confer the status of legitimacy upon a child born out of wedlock, as by subsequent marriage of the parents or acknowledgement of paternity by the father. ”Cf. James E. Clapp，Random House Webster's Dictionary of the Law，at p. 269，Random House (2000).

[3] Cf. Linda Picard Wood, J. D. Meniam. Webster's Dictionary of Law、at p. 194， Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (1996).