unfathered

[ uhn-fah-therd ]

adjective

1. having no father; fatherless.
2. of illegitimate or unknown paternity; bastard.
3. not ascribable to a particular author or source:

   unfathered tales.

unfathered

/ ʌnˈfɑːðəd /

adjective

1. having no known father
2. of unknown or uncertain origin
3. archaic.
   fatherless

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfathered¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; un- ¹ + father + -ed ³

Example Sentences

Unfathered, un-f′thėrd, adj. having no father, fatherless: not acknowledged by its father.

From Project Gutenberg

But he turned to his own family, then as always afterwards, with an affection stimulated by his unfathered state in England.

From Project Gutenberg

The son of nobody, a being unfathered in the eye of the law, is the brother of nobody.

From Project Gutenberg

It was one of those vagrant, orphan poems with fine family lineaments that find their way unfathered into odd corners of papers.

From Project Gutenberg

And before it had come on for trial the case of Aurora Lane and her unfathered boy.

From Project Gutenberg