bastard

Origin: right|thumb|220px|'ƿyllelm bastard' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1066 From , bastarde, from , from , , perhaps via , of origin. Likely from + , -art. Frankish *bāst derives from a North Sea Germanic variety of , from and is related to , , and more distantly to . The term probably originally referred to a child from a polygynous marriage of heathen Germanic custom — a practice not sanctioned by the Christian churches. Alternatively, and probably less likely, Old French bastart may have originated from the Old French term fils de bast, meaning a child conceived on an improvised bed (medieval. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).