Bastardry

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The status of a person born outside lawful marriage ; actions or behavior showing harshness, cruelty, or contemptible traits
2. The state of having parents who are not married to each other at the time of birth ; conduct marked by nastiness or unprincipled attitudes
3. Being born from an unmarried union ; displaying mean-spirited or dishonorable behavior

Etymology: Bastardry is a compound of "bastard" and the suffix "-ry", which turns a noun into one denoting a condition, practice, or collective behaviour. The Middle English form "bastardrie" arose as an alternation of the older "bastardie", reshaped by the suffix "-erie", which came into English from Old French. The result was a word that could describe both the legal standing of someone born outside lawful marriage and the conduct associated with a cruel or contemptible character. The two senses sit side by side because "bastard" itself carried both. Its literal meaning concerned birth, and the slide toward insult was an extension of that, so "bastardry" inherited a pair of meanings that were always close neighbours in English usage. Today the word is used mostly in the second sense, for harshness or meanness, though the older legal sense is still listed in dictionaries.

Synonyms: immorality, deceit, dishonor

Antonyms: integrity, honesty, honor