bar sinister

bar sin·is·ter

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bahr sin-uh-ster]
- /bɑr ˈsɪn ə stər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bahr sin-uh-ster]
- /bɑr ˈsɪn ə stər/

Definitions of bar sinister words

noun bar sinister the condition, implication, or stigma of being of illegitimate birth 3
abbreviation BAR SINISTER bend sinister 3
noun bar sinister Heraldry. (not in technical use) a bend sinister or a baton. 1
noun bar sinister the proof, condition, or stigma of illegitimate birth. 1
noun bar sinister (heraldry, considered nonstandard) A bend sinister or baton sinister in a coat of arms. 0
noun bar sinister (Idiomatic) (euphemistic) The state or characteristic of having been born out of wedlock; illegitimacy; bastardy. 0

See all 7 definitions of bar sinister

Information block about the term

Origin of bar sinister

First appearance:

before 1815

One of the 39% newest English words

First recorded in 1815-25

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Bar sinister

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Bar sinister

bar sinister popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

bar sinister usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for bar sinister

noun bar sinister

illegitimacy — the state or quality of being illegitimate.
bastardy — the condition of being a bastard; illegitimacy
bend sinister — a diagonal line bisecting a shield from the top right to the bottom left, typically indicating a bastard line

All 4 Synonyms of bar sinister