bastard

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbæstɚd/ UK /ˈbɑːstəd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a child born out of wedlock; something irregular or impure in origin

The heir was barred from the throne as a bastard.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a child born out of... illegitimatelove-childhybrid mongrel spurious

Opposites

legitimatetrueborn

Word family

Derived forms bastardizebastardybastardly

Etymology

From Old French bastard ('illegitimate child'), probably from fils de bast ('child of a packsaddle'), from bast ('packsaddle used as a makeshift bed') plus the pejorative suffix -ard.

bastard Old French bast Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# bastard

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbæstɚd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɑːstəd/

## Meanings
1. a child born out of wedlock; something irregular or impure in origin

## Examples
- The heir was barred from the throne as a bastard.

## Synonyms
- illegitimate
- love-child
- hybrid
- mongrel
- spurious

## Antonyms
- legitimate
- trueborn

## Derived Forms
- bastardize
- bastardy
- bastardly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bastard
- Root: bast

## Etymology
From Old French bastard ('illegitimate child'), probably from fils de bast ('child of a packsaddle'), from bast ('packsaddle used as a makeshift bed') plus the pejorative suffix -ard.

## AI Etymology
Bastard is from Old French bastard ('illegitimate child'), probably from fils de bast ('child of a packsaddle'), from bast ('packsaddle used as a makeshift bed') plus the pejorative suffix -ard. In present-day use, it means a child born out of wedlock; something irregular or impure in origin. Derived formations include bastardize, bastardy, and bastardly.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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