Natural Child

"Natural child" is an outdated, but polite, euphemism for a child born out of wedlock. In many times and places this category of offspring has been disparaged and stigmatized, and even socially penalized for the fact that their parents weren't married to each other. It is believed that this term came into use during the Victorian era replacing the older term "bastard" and is an antecedent of the 20th century term "illegitimate" child. In the 21st century, these terms are rarely used in our world where single/unmarried parenthood is much more accepted than it was in earlier centuries.

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