Bastard

In the Old Testament the rendering of the Hebrew word mamzer’, which means “polluted.” In Deut. 23:2, it occurs in the ordinary sense of illegitimate offspring. In Zech. 9:6, the word is used in the sense of foreigner. From the history of Jephthah we learn that there were bastard offspring among the Jews (Judg. 11:1-7). In Heb. 12:8, the word (Gr. nothoi) is used in its ordinary sense, and denotes those who do not share the privileges of God’s children.

Among those who were excluded from entering the congregation, even to the tenth generation, was the bastard. (23:2) The term is not, however, applied to any illegitimate offspring, born out of wedlock, but is restricted by the rabbins to the issue of any connection within the degrees prohibited by the law.

BAS'TARD. Deut 23:2 forbids for ever the entrance of a bastard into the congregation — i. e. "from intermarrying with pure Hebrews." But since concubinage was tolerated, the term evidently does not apply to one born out of wedlock. "The Rabbins, therefore, are probably right when they interpret the word as denoting only those born of incest or adultery." See Concubine.

BAS'TARD. Deut 23:2 forbids for ever the entrance of a bastard into the congregation — i. e. "from intermarrying with pure Hebrews." But since concubinage was tolerated, the term evidently does not apply to one born out of wedlock. "The Rabbins, therefore, are probably right when they interpret the word as denoting only those born of incest or adultery." See Concubine.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A "natural" child; a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate child; one born of an illicit union.

2. An inferior quality of soft brown sugar, obtained from the sirups that

3. A large size of mold, in which sugar is drained.

4. A sweet Spanish wine like muscadel in flavor. Brown bastard is your only drink. Shak.

5. A writing paper of a particular size. See Paper.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To bastardize. [Obs.] Bacon.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Begotten and born out of lawful matrimony; illegitimate. See Bastard, n., note.

2. Lacking in genuineness; spurious; false; adulterate; -- applied to things which resemble those which are genuine, but are really not so. That bastard self-love which is so vicious in itself, and productive of so many vices. Barrow.

3. Of an unusual make or proportion; as, a bastard musket; a bastard culverin. [Obs.]

4. Abbreviated, as the half title in a page preceding the full title page of a book. Bastard ashlar (Arch.), stones for ashlar work, roughly squared at the quarry. -- Bastard file, a file intermediate between the coarsest and the second cut. -- Bastard type (Print.), type having the face of a larger or a smaller size than the body; e.g., a nonpareil face on a brevier body. -- Bastard wing (Zoöl.), three to five quill feathers on a small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mam malia; the alula.