/
ˈbɑːstəd,
ˈbast-/
n.
- archaic or derogatory an illegitimate person.
- informal an unpleasant or despicable person.
▸
Brit. a person of a specified kind:
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you lucky bastard!
▸a difficult or awkward situation or device.
adj.
- archaic or derogatory illegitimate.
- no longer in its pure or original form.
Derivative
History
The word bastard came into English from Old French in the medieval period and derives from medieval Latin bastardus, which probably came from bastum ‘packsaddle’. The reason for such a dramatic change of meaning is uncertain: however, there could be a parallel in the Old French term for an illegitimate child, fils de bast, literally ‘packsaddle son’, i.e. the son of a mule driver who had a brief sexual encounter with a woman, using a packsaddle for a pillow, and was gone by morning.
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