1. [n]  derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin; "the architecture was a kind of bastard suggesting Gothic but not true Gothic"
2. [n]  (obscene) insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
3. [n]  the illegitimate offspring of unmarried parents
4. [adj]  fraudulent; having a misleading appearance
5. [adj]  born out of wedlock; "the dominions of both rulers passed away to their spurious or doubtful offspring"- E.A.Freeman

1. \Bas"tard\, n. [OF. bastard, bastart, F. b?tard, prob.
   fr. OF. bast, F. b?t, a packsaddle used as a bed by the
   muleteers (fr. LL. bastum) + -ard. OF. fils de bast son of
   the packsaddle; as the muleteers were accustomed to use their
   saddles for beds in the inns. See Cervantes, ``Don Quixote,''
   chap. 16; and cf.G. bankert, fr. bank bench.]
   1. A ``natural'' child; a child begotten and born out of
      wedlock; an illegitimate child; one born of an illicit
      union.
   
   Note: By the civil and canon laws, and by the laws of many of
         the United States, a bastard becomes a legitimate child
         by the intermarriage of the parents at any subsequent
         time. But by those of England, and of some states of
         the United States, a child, to be legitimate, must at
         least be born after the lawful marriage. --Kent.
         Blackstone.
   
   2. (Sugar Refining)
      (a) An inferior quality of soft brown sugar, obtained from
          the sirups that ? already had several boilings.
      (b) A large size of mold, in which sugar is drained.
   
   3. A sweet Spanish wine like muscadel in flavor.
   
            Brown bastard is your only drink.     --Shak.
   
   4. A writing paper of a particular size. See {Paper}.
   
   

2. \Bas"tard\, 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. (Print.) 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} (Zo["o]l.), three to five quill feathers on a
      small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mam malia;
      the alula.
   
   

3. \Bas"tard\, v. t.
   To bastardize. [Obs.] --Bacon.
   
   

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.