bastard
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bastard,
person born out of wedlock whose legal status is illegitimacy. In civil lawcivil law,as used in this article, a modern legal system based upon Roman law, as distinguished from common law. Civil law is based on written legal codes, a hallmark of the Roman legal system, in which disputes were settled by reference to a written legal code arrived at
..... Click the link for more information. countries and in about half the states of the United States, the union of the parents in marriage after birth makes the child legitimate. It is presumed that any child born to a married woman, or within competent time after termination of the marriage, is the child of her husband. If, however, it can be proved that it was physically impossible for the husband to have been the father (e.g., because of nonaccess to the wife), he may bring action to establish the illegitimacy of the child. Unlike civil law, which granted bastards certain rights, English common lawcommon law,
system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the common custom of the realm, as opposed to the custom of local jurisdiction that
..... Click the link for more information. treated them almost as persons outside the law and left their care to poorhouses. At common law bastards have no right to inherit property from their mother or father except by specific designation (e.g., in a will). In the mid-20th cent. their condition has been much improved by statute. Discrimination against children born out of wedlock is now subject to constitutional limitation under the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. For the status of children born to annulled marriages, see nullity of marriagenullity of marriage,
in law, an unlawful marriage that is either void or voidable because of conditions existing at the time of the marriage. A bigamous or incestuous marriage, for example, is void, and there is no need to bring a suit to obtain a decree declaring it void.
..... Click the link for more information. ; husband and wifehusband and wife,
the legal aspects of the married state (for the sociological aspects, see marriage). The Marriage Contract
Marriage is a contractual relationship between a man and a woman that vests the parties with a new legal status.
..... Click the link for more information. . See also legitimationlegitimation,
act of giving the status of legitimacy to a child whose parents were not married at the time the child was born. This is generally accomplished by the subsequent marriage of the parents.
..... Click the link for more information. .
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bastard
A nonstandard item; one of irregular or abnormal size or shape or of inferior quality.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
bastard
a hybrid, esp an accidental or inferior one
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005