I. ˈbastə(r)d, ˈbaas-, ˈbais- also ˈbȧstəd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French bastart, bastard, from bast, perhaps meaning “barn” (in fils de bast bastard, perhaps of Germanic origin; akin to Gothic bansts barn) + -art, -ard -ard — more at boose
1. : one born out of wedlock : an illegitimate child — compare legitimate , nullius filius
2. : a sweet Spanish wine resembling muscatel that was especially popular in England in Elizabethan times
3. : something that is spurious, irregular, inferior, or of questionable origin
the … residence is a bastard of the architectural era which followed the building of the Imperial Hotel — Hugh Byas
4. : hybrid — now used chiefly to imply inferior quality or to indicate a product of chance interbreeding
5. : writing paper 16×20 inches in size
6. : an inferior brown sugar made from the syrups that have already had several boilings
7.
a. : an obnoxious or mean overbearing person — used as a generalized term of abuse
they made him an officer and right away he became the biggest bastard you ever saw — T.O.Heggen
b. : an unfortunate victim
once the sequence of events was set going the poor bastard never had a chance — Samuel Yellen
c. : fellow — used as a generalized term of approval
the nicest thing an Aussie can call you is a bloody fine bastard — Life
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French bastart, bastard, from bastart, bastard, n.
1. : born out of wedlock : illegitimate
the bastard son of a rich old noble — J.T.Farrell
2. : of inferior breed or stock : mongrel , hybrid , lowbred
bastard dogs
bastard oats
3.
a. : of abnormal shape or irregular size : of unusual make or proportions
a sash and door catalog with its fifty or more bastard sizes of doors and windows — R.E.Flanders
— usually used in technical phrases
bastard car
bastard connection
bastard bolt
b. of printing type
(1) : having a face of one size and a body of another size
(2) : not cast on the point system
(3) : of a size arbitrarily classed as nonstandard
4. : having the appearance of : resembling to some extent : being an inferior kind of
bastard sugar
bastard marble
bastard measles
5. : lacking genuineness or authority : spurious , debased, false
a bastard poetic form
houses of bastard design
the indiscriminate use of Greek letters by bastard groups not connected with the higher learning — C.W.Ferguson