Bastardies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Illegitimate offspring born to parents not legally married ; acts or conditions of illegitimacy or deviation from accepted norms ; derogatory actions or situations considered base or dishonorable
2. Children conceived outside lawful marriage ; instances or behaviors marked by illegitimacy or moral corruption ; circumstances regarded as disgraceful or betraying integrity
3. Persons born without lawful parental union ; examples or occurrences of social or legal illegitimacy ; episodes or qualities perceived as contemptible or improper

Etymology: "Bastardies" is the plural of "bastardy," the legal and social term for the condition of being born to unmarried parents. The singular was borrowed from Middle French "bastardie" into Middle English, where it also appeared as "bastardrie," and it is simply "bastard" with the suffix "-y" attached, which in this case forms a noun of state or condition. The plural form, with its suffix, can name several such cases at once. The base word "bastard" carries the older sense. It came into English from Old French, and its earliest recorded meaning was a child born out of wedlock, with no implied insult in the first instance. Insult came later, once the stigma of illegitimacy hardened into a general term of abuse. Because "bastardy" keeps the original sense rather than the insult, it remains the neutral, technical word, while "bastardies" simply treats that condition as countable.

Synonyms: illegitimacies, illegitimate children, natural children, out-of-wedlock children, illegitimate births

Antonyms: legitimacies, legitimate children, lawful births, legitimate offspring, lawful children