A feminine form (or a historical script style) descended from 'bastard,' referring either to a woman born outside marriage or a medieval writing style that was a bastardized mix of formal and cursive letterforms.
From Spanish/Portuguese 'bastarda,' the feminine form of 'bastardo,' ultimately derived from Medieval Latin 'bastardus,' possibly from Old French combining 'bast' (bundle of straw for packsaddle) with Germanic roots.
Bastarda script is one of history's most fascinating rejected alphabets—it was so messy and informal that scribes abandoned it, but medieval monks actually used it for everyday notes, making it the 'text message' of the 1400s!
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