bastardy
Americannoun
-
the state or condition of being a bastard; illegitimacy.
-
the act of begetting a bastard.
noun
Etymology
Origin of bastardy
1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French bastardie. See bastard, -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Bracton does have a lot to say about monsters, duels, bastardy, concubines, sturgeon “and other royal fish,” the “pillory and the ducking-stool," and "a judgment with infamy.”
From Washington Post
That in heraldry, a bend sinister indicates bastardy.
From New York Times
The arm-wrestle between Portugal and Uruguay on Saturday will see a meeting of two teams with the necessary tournament bastardy, plus elite attackers in form.
From The Guardian
“All these great men use what comes to them from the Other to modify the Self, to bastardize it, for genius wants bastardy.”
From The New Yorker
Indeed, in Shakespeare's play, Richard III uses charges of bastardy to wipe out his rivals for the throne.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
