bastard
/ˈbæs.tɚd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.89 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A person who was born out of wedlock, and hence often considered an illegitimate descendant.
Countable; Dated; Uncountable
noun
A mongrel (biological cross between different breeds, groups or varieties).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A contemptible, inconsiderate, overly or arrogantly rude or spiteful person.
Countable; Derogatory; Offensive; Uncountable
Example Sentences
Etymology
From Middle English bastard, bastarde, from Old English bastard (used as an epithet), from Anglo-Norman bastard, Old French bastart (“illegitimate child”), perhaps via Medieval Latin bastardus, of obscure origin. Likely from Frankish *bāst (“marriage, relationship”) + Old French -ard, -art (pejorative suffix denoting a specific quality or condition). Frankish *bāst derives from a North Sea Germanic variety of Proto-Germanic *banstuz (“bond, connection, relationship, marriage with a second woman of lower status”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”) and is related to West Frisian boaste (“marriage, matrimony”), Middle Dutch bast (“lust, heat”), and more distantly to English boose (“cow-stall”). The term probably originally referred to a child from a polygynous marriage of heathen Germanic custom — a practice not sanctioned by the Christian churches. Alternatively, and less likely, Old French bastart may have originated from the Old French term fils de bast (“packsaddle son”), meaning a child conceived on an improvised bed (medieval saddles often doubled as beds while travelling). However chronology makes this difficult, as bastard is attested in Old French from 1089 (Middle Latin bastardus as early as 1010), yet Old French bast (modern French bât), though attested since 1130 with the meaning of "beast of burden", doesn't acquire the specific meaning of "packsaddle" until the 13c., making it too late to have given rise to the terms bastard and bastardus with this sense. The French Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales supports the Germanic theory further above as being most likely.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: bastard, bastardus, *bāst, *banstuz, *bʰendʰ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbæs.tɚd/
- British English: /ˈbɑːs.təd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
bastards (plural)
bastid (alternative, pronunciation spelling)
more bastard (comparative)
most bastard (superlative)
bastard! (canonical)
bastards (present, singular)
bastarding (participle, present)
bastarded (participle, past)
bastarded (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
bastard agrimony
bastard alkanet
bastard ashlar
bastard bar
bastard big-footed mouse
bastard bully tree
bastard cabbage
bastard cabbage tree