bar sinister

noun

1. Heraldry. (not in technical use) a bend sinister or a baton.
2. the proof, condition, or stigma of illegitimate birth.

bar sinister

noun

1. See bend sinister
   (not in heraldic usage) another name for bend sinister
2. the condition, implication, or stigma of being of illegitimate birth

Word History and Origins

Origin of bar sinister¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

The bar sinister was on his shield; his credentials were the advice of an unreal person to fight in common with the whites.

From Project Gutenberg

Brindle is so pedigreed I don't believe he would thank you for the bar sinister you put on him.

From Project Gutenberg

The bar sinister stayed him from Broadweald, so the judges had said, and haughty Fitzooth had perforce to bear with their finding.

From Project Gutenberg

The forgotten deeds of desperate valor—all useless now, and stained forever with the bar sinister of his treason.

From Project Gutenberg

It is utterly impossible to draw a bar sinister—such a thing does not exist.

From Project Gutenberg