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bastardus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word bastardus

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1074/1075, a charter
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek βαστάζω
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin bastum
Latin bastardus

Forms

bastardus (feminine bastarda, neuter bastardum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[1][2][3] The usual explanation, given by Niermeyer, is that it is from Latin bastum1 (“packsaddle”), meaning one begotten on a packsaddle;[4][2][1] Etymonline explains Old French bastard in the same way, as a “packsaddle son” conceived on an improvised bed, with the pejorative ending -art.[5] Wiktionary also suggests Frankish *bāst (“marriage”),[1] and Köbler allows a Germanic source.[2] Etymonline quotes the OED's view that the source is most plausibly a variant of Old Frisian bōst (“morganatic marriage”).[5]

It gave the Old French word, modern French bâtard, and English bastard.[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first record is a charter of 1074/1075, and the word also appears in glosses, where Old High German kebissunu “son of a concubine” translates it.[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin it is both a noun, a bastard child, and an adjective, “illegitimate”, then “spurious, impure”.[4][2][3] Du Cange quotes an old charter in which a man gives a share of his property to his germānīs bastardīs, his illegitimate brothers.[6] English sources apply it to a son of King Henry I and to William the Conqueror, Willelmus bastardus.[7] A Lausanne charter of 1235 seems to use it of a roof that leans to one side.[3]

English took the Old French word as bastard in the early 13th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1074/1075 – It first appears in a charter.[2]
  • early 13th century – English borrows bastard from Old French.[5]
  • 1139 – John of Worcester calls the Earl of Gloucester a son of King Henry I, but a bastardus.[7]
  • 1212 – An English record dates holdings from the time of William the Bastard.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) illegitimate, born out of wedlock.[4][2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) spurious, false, impure.[4][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Leaning to one side.[3][2]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A bastard, an illegitimate child.[4][2][7][6]

Word family

  • abastardō
  • bastardia

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Bastardus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/bastardus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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