born out of wedlock born when one's parents are not legally married
[Old English wedlāc, from wedd pledge + -lāc, suffix denoting activity, perhaps from lāc game, battle (related to Gothic laiks dance, Old Norse leikr)]
O.E. wedlac "pledge-giving, marriage vow," from wed + -lac, noun suffix meaning "actions or proceedings, practice," attested in about a dozen O.E. compounds (cf. feohtlac "warfare"), but this is the only surviving example. Suffix altered by folk etymology through association with lock. Meaning "condition