bastardy means the condition of being illegitimate, of being born to an unmarried woman and man or as the fruit of adultery. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
bastardy is pronounced /ˈbæstə(ɹ)di/.
Why “bastardy” is a great word
BASTARDY — [Noun] The condition of being born to parents not married to each other. From Middle English *bastardie*, a borrowing from Middle French *bastardie*, equivalent to *bastard* (from Old French *bast*, "pack saddle," implying a child begotten on a makeshift bed) + the noun-forming suffix *-y*. Unlike "illegitimacy," a broad and sterile legal category, or "adultery," the specific act of infidelity, bastardy is the archaic, pejorative label for the resultant life, heavy with inherited judgment. It is the damning notation in a parish register, the barred door to an inheritance, and the permanent weight of a surname that denotes not lineage but a moment's indiscretion on a stableman's saddle—a word that builds a prison from a single syllable.
Etymology
From Middle English bastardie (also as bastardrie), a borrowing from Middle French bastardie. Equivalent to bastard + -y.
noun
- The condition of being illegitimate, of being born to an unmarried woman and man or as the fruit of adultery.“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.”