adulterine

9.9

A child born after one parent has sex with someone who is not their husband or wife

adjective
/əˈdʌltəˌraɪn/

NSFW

: adulterino

Many historical monarchies did not recognize adulterine children as legitimate heirs.

Examples

The noble's adulterine son was denied inheritance by the court.
She grew up unaware of her adulterine origins until adulthood.
The adulterine child faced social stigma.
She discovered that her adulterine son was not accepted in school.
Many historical monarchies did not recognize adulterine children as legitimate heirs.
The noble's adulterine son was denied inheritance by the court.
She grew up unaware of her adulterine origins until adulthood.

Synonyms

illegitimate child

vsadulterine

Formal

13 4.9

A child born to parents who are not married to each other

specifies conception resulted from adultery and is narrower in scope

Antonyms

to legitimate

Formal

1 7.7

To make a child born outside marriage legally recognized

Surface Forms

adulterine positive

Morphology

adulterine = adultery (transparent) = adulter + ine

Formed by the noun 'adultery' plus the adjective-forming suffix '-ine', so the meaning 'pertaining to or resulting from adultery' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Adulterine is related to adultery, which means 'sex outside marriage'. So an adulterine child is 'born from adultery' rather than from a lawful marriage, and that is why the word means a child conceived as a result of adultery.