noun
- an act or instance of giving birth, especially by natural childbirth.
noun
- an act or instance of being born: the day of his birth.
- the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition: a difficult birth.
- lineage; extraction; descent: of Grecian birth.
- high or noble lineage: to be foolishly vain about one’s birth.
- natural heritage: a musician by birth.
- any coming into existence; origin; beginning: the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.
- Archaic. something that is born.
verb (used with object) Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.
- to give birth to.
- to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.
- give birth to,
- to bear (a child).
- to initiate; originate: Her hobby gave birth to a successful business.
noun
- the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirthRelated adjective: natal
- the act or fact of being born; nativity
- the coming into existence of something; origin
- ancestry; lineageof high birth
- noble ancestrya man of birth
- natural or inherited talentan artist by birth
- archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
- give birth
- to bear (offspring)
- to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
verb (tr) rare
- to bear or bring forth (a child)
early 13c., from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse *byrðr (replacing cognate Old English gebyrd “birth, descent, race; offspring; nature; fate”), from Proto-Germanic *gaburthis (cf. Old Frisian berd, Old Saxon giburd, Dutch geboorte, Old High German giburt, German geburt, Gothic gabaurþs), from PIE *bhrto past participle of root *bher- (1) “to carry; to bear children” (cf. Sanskrit bhrtih “a bringing, maintenance,” Latin fors, genitive fortis “chance;” see bear (v.)). Suffix -th is for “process” (as in bath, death). Meaning “parentage, lineage, extraction” (revived from Old English) is from mid-13c. Birth control is from 1914; birth rate from 1859. Birth certificate is from 1842.
mid-13c., from birth (n.). Related: Birthed; birthing.
adj.
- Having to do with or used during birth.
n.
- The act of giving birth.
n.
- The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of the mother.
- The act or process of bearing young; parturition.
- The circumstances or conditions relating to this event, as its time or location.
- The set of characteristics or circumstances received from one’s ancestors; inheritance.
- Origin; extraction.
Noun
- The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes.
Adjective
- Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.
see give birth to.