Misbegotten

 WORD OF THE DAY

misbegotten / adjective / miss-bih-GAH-tun

Definition
1a (dated): unlawfully conceived
1b: born to parents not married to each other
2a: having a disreputable or improper origin
2b: ill-conceived
2c: contemptible
2d: deformed 

Examples
"… one of those misbegotten oddities that cheats you out of the film you imagine you'll be getting from its opening 10 minutes...." — Robbie Collin, The Daily Telegraph (London), 6 Aug. 2021

While the Bush administration was engaged in its misbegotten wars, North Korea obtained nuclear weapons.

— Michael Krepon, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021

Did You Know?

In the beginning, there was bigietan, and bigietan begot beyeten; then in the days of Middle English beyeten begot begeten, and from thence sprung misbegotten. That description may be a bit flowery, but it accurately traces the path that led to misbegotten. All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors listed above basically meant the same thing as the modern beget-that is, "to father" or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line brought forth misbegotten by adding the prefix mis- (meaning "wrong," "bad," or "not") in the mid-1500s.