bastard

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɑːs.təd/ (UK); /ˈbæs.tɚd/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bastard, borrowed from Old French bastard (“acknowledged child of a nobleman by a woman other than his wife”),^[2][3] probably from fils de bast (“packsaddle son”),^[2][3][4] a child conceived on a makeshift bed (saddles often served as beds while travelling), with the pejorative suffix -ard (see -ard).^[2] Others connect it with Medieval Latin bastardus and bastum (“packsaddle”),^[4][5] and Merriam-Webster suggests bast meant a barn, perhaps of Germanic origin.^[6] The OED online prefers a link with Old Frisian bōst (“morganatic marriage”) or an Old Saxon cognate.^[2] Hoad calls it of uncertain origin.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

An illegitimate child: the early 13th century in Etymonline, about 1300 in Barnhart, 1297 in the OED;^[2][3][8] it occurs earlier as an epithet in names (Peter Bastard, 1250).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word was not always a stigma: William the Conqueror was called William the Bastard in state documents.^[2] The figurative sense, a thing not pure or genuine, is from the late 14th century,^[2] as is the adjective, used of spurious or irregular things and of mongrels and mixed breeds.^[2] A sweet Spanish wine was called bastard from 1399, and a kind of cannon from 1549.^[8] As a general vulgar term of abuse for a man it is attested from 1830,^[2][8] and in informal use it now also means simply a person (lucky bastard) or something very difficult.^[9]

Timeline

• 1250 – as a name, Peter Bastard.^[3]
• 1297 – an illegitimate child.^[8]
• late 14th century – something not genuine; the adjective.^[2]
• 1399 – a sweet Spanish wine.^[8]
• 1830 – a term of abuse.^[2][8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (old-fashioned or offensive) A person born to parents who were not married; an illegitimate child.
2. (informal, derogatory) An unpleasant or despicable person.
3. (informal) A person, often jocular; or something very difficult or unpleasant.
4. Something of irregular, inferior or doubtful origin.

Adjective

1. Born of unmarried parents.
2. Not genuine; spurious; resembling a known kind without truly being it.

Word family

• bastardly
• bastardise
• bastardize
• bastardy
• bastardry
• bastard indigo
• bastard eigne
• bastard file

Related words

• bantling
• -ard

Usage notes

Compare German Bänkling (“bastard, a child begotten on a bench”), the source of English bantling.^[2] In Kent dialect a bastard was a gelding.^[10]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)