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Glite Dictionary
misbegot

misbegot

9.9
A child born to parents who are not married
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɪs.bɪˈɡɑt/
  • Offensive
translation icon : ilegítimo
  • The king refused to recognize his misbegot children as heirs to the throne.

Examples

  • The estate was divided among the legitimate and misbegot offspring of the nobleman.

  • In the old novel, the protagonist struggled with the shame of being misbegot.

  • The misbegot child faced many challenges growing up.

  • In the story, the misbegot son sought his father's approval.

  • In the old novel, the protagonist struggled with the shame of being misbegot.

  • The estate was divided among the legitimate and misbegot offspring of the nobleman.

  • The king refused to recognize his misbegot children as heirs to the throne.

Synonyms

illegitimate
vsmisbegot
  • Formal
39 6.1

A child or marriage not recognized by law because the parents were not married

focuses on archaic birth status, not primarily legal recognition
out of wedlock
vsmisbegot
  • Formal
23 5.3

A child born to parents who are not married

is the archaic single-word form rather than the phrase
misbegotten
vsmisbegot
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A child born to parents who are not married

is the same meaning but is a shorter archaic variant
spurious
vsmisbegot
  • Offensive
9.9

Born to parents who are not married

is the archaic label presented as the main concept
bastardly
vsmisbegot
  • Offensive
9.9

Born to parents who are not married to each other

is the neutral archaic term without the strong insult

Antonyms

lawful
  • Formal
82 2.9

Allowed by the law

legitimate
23 4.2

Recognized by law or custom, for example a child born to married parents

Surface Forms

misbegot positive

Morphology

misbegot = beget (opaque) = mis + begot

The prefix 'mis-' suggests an incorrect or bad action, but the archaic nature and specific meaning of 'illegitimate' are not easily derived.

Etymology

Misbegot comes from mis- meaning 'wrong' or 'badly' and begot, the past of beget, which means 'to father or produce'. So to be misbegot was to be 'born outside marriage'—literally 'wrongly fathered', which is why the word meant 'illegitimate'.