Adulterines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterizing offspring born from a relationship outside of marriage or a union that violates marital fidelity
2. Pertaining to children born from illicit affairs or unions not recognized by the legal or social standards of marriage
3. Describing individuals that come from unions considered morally or legally questionable due to infidelity or extramarital relations

Etymology: "Adulterines" is the plural of "adulterine", a noun for children born of affairs. It is the form of a word that goes back to Latin "adulterinus", meaning "not genuine" or "counterfeit," and in the earliest Latin usage it was applied to things made fraudulently, such as false coins. The adjective's sense of illegitimacy, with its link to adultery, grew out of that broader idea of something spurious or forged. The root is "adulter", meaning "adulterer" or "adulteress," with the suffix "-inus" giving a sense of belonging to or derived from. In English, the adjective "adulterine" was used in the same way, so a child born from adultery was described as having an adulterine birth, and the plural noun followed from that usage.