Origin of bastard
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French
bastard, Medieval Latin
bastardus (from 11th century), perhaps < Germanic (Ingvaeonic)
*bāst-, presumed variant of
*bōst- marriage + Old French
-ard
-ard, taken as signifying the offspring of a polygynous marriage to a woman of lower status, a pagan tradition not sanctioned by the church; compare Old Frisian
bost marriage < Germanic
*bandstu-, a noun derivative of Indo-European
*bhendh-
bind; the traditional explanation of Old French
bastard as derivative of
fils de bast “child of a packsaddle” is doubtful on chronological and geographical grounds
Words nearby bastard
bassoon,
basswood,
bast,
bast fiber,
basta,
bastard,
bastard amber,
bastard culverin,
bastard cut,
bastard eigne,
bastard file
British Dictionary definitions for bastard
bastard
/ (ˈbɑːstəd, ˈbæs-) /
noun
adjective (prenominal)
Derived forms of bastard
bastardly, adjectiveWord Origin for bastard
C13: from Old French
bastart, perhaps from
bast in the phrase
fils de bast son of the packsaddle (that is, of an unlawful and not the marriage bed), from Medieval Latin
bastum packsaddle, of uncertain origin