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Webster 1913 Edition


Bastardy

Bas′tar-dy

,
Noun.
1.
The state of being a bastard; illegitimacy.
2.
The procreation of a bastard child.
Wharton.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bastardy

B'ASTARDY

,
Noun.
A state of being a bastard, or begotten and born out of lawful wedlock, which condition disables the person from inheriting an estate.

Definition 2024


bastardy

bastardy

English

Noun

bastardy (countable and uncountable, plural bastardies)

  1. (law) The condition of being illegitimate, of being born to an unmarried woman or as the fruit of adultery.
    • Shakespeare, Richard III, Act 3, Scene 5.
      Go, after, after, cousin Buckingham.
      The Mayor towards Guildhall hies him in all post:—
      There, at your meet'st advantage of the time,
      Infer the bastardy of Edward's children:
      Tell them how Edward put to death a citizen,
      Only for saying he would make his son
      Heir to the crown;—meaning, indeed, his house,
      Which, by the sign thereof, was termed so.

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