Definition of "bastardy" [bas•tar•dy]

• The condition of being born of unwed parents; illegitimacy. (noun)
• The begetting of a bastard. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Certainly, the local courts acknowledged midwives 'claims for fee payment and recognized midwifery expenses as legitimate claims in bastardy cases."
• "Certainly, these fees may have been inflated by the fact that they were being charged in bastardy cases; most likely, amounts charged outside the framework of litigation were lower, if fees were charged at all."
• "Note 137: Note that these were fees for medical attendance, not witness fees, as were often allowed in bastardy and fornication matters in courts in colonial America. back"