Kilo Lingo

/ˈbɑː.stəd/

Line drawing of bastard
Coloured illustration of bastard
#680 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

A hard insult for a man the speaker thinks is cruel or unfair. Its old meaning was a child born to unmarried parents, but hardly anyone uses it that way now. Medium strength, and among friends it can even sound warm. Recognise it, do not use it.

Word origin

From Old French bastard, a child born outside marriage. In modern English the insult sense has taken over completely.

Origin
Old French
Root
bastard

Examples

.

A hard insult, and one aimed at men.

!

Said to a friend this is not an insult at all. Tone decides everything.

.

Used of a thing, it just means difficult and annoying.

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

This word is part of lesson .