bar sinister

Definitions

1. 1

   A bend sinister or baton sinister in a coat of arms.

   • "A king's son, though with the bar sinister on his shield, is at least a match for this marmoset of a marquis."
   • At any rate no bar sinister appeared on the imperial escutcheon.
   • They were descended from the Earls of Halifax and Scarbrough but, as the bar sinister in the Savile coat of arms suggests, illegitimately.
2. 2

   The state or characteristic of having been born out of wedlock

   The state or characteristic of having been born out of wedlock; illegitimacy; bastardy.

   • He was not influenced by sordid considerations. . . . Had she been merely of illegitimate birth, he would have overlooked the bar sinister.
   • James Smithson was the illegitimate son of the first Duke of Northumberland, third creation. His mother was a lineal descendant of Henry VII. Despite so much blue blood, the bar sinister seared James Smithson all his life.
3. 3

   A state or characteristic which is dishonorable or shameful

   A state or characteristic which is dishonorable or shameful; a stigma.

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