birth

[ burth ]

noun

1. an act or instance of being born:

   the day of his birth.

2. the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition:

   a difficult birth.

3. lineage; extraction; descent:

   of Grecian birth.

   Synonyms: family, blood, line, ancestry, parentage

4. high or noble lineage:

   to be foolishly vain about one's birth.

5. natural heritage:

   a musician by birth.

6. any coming into existence; origin; beginning:

   the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.

   Synonyms: inauguration, genesis, inception, commencement, start

7. Archaic. something that is born.

verb (used with object)

, Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. to give birth to.
2. to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for.

birth

/ bɜːθ /

noun

1. the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirth natal
2. the act or fact of being born; nativity
3. the coming into existence of something; origin
4. ancestry; lineage

   of high birth

5. noble ancestry

   a man of birth

6. natural or inherited talent

   an artist by birth

7. archaic.
   the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
8. give birth
   1. to bear (offspring)
   2. to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)

verb

1. to bear or bring forth (a child)

birth

/ bûrth /

Noun

1. The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes.

Adjective

1. Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.

Other Words From

• multi·birth noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of birth¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English byrthe, from Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd, Old High German giburt, Gothic gabaurths; bear ¹( def ), -th ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of birth¹

C12: from Old Norse byrth ; related to Gothic gabaurths , Old Swedish byrdh , Old High German berd child; see bear ¹, bairn

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. give birth to,
   1. to bear (a child).
   2. to initiate; originate:

      Her hobby gave birth to a successful business.

More idioms and phrases containing birth

see give birth to .

Example Sentences

In each expedition, Poulain would first validate the age of alleged centenarians by examining census information, birth and death records, marriage certificates, and other official documents.

From Science Magazine

Researchers measured each baby's weight, length and body fat at birth and then several times over the first 12 months of their lives.

From Science Daily

But the impending birth of his son, and the opportunity to serve as an example of persevering through hard times, factored into his decision to return.

From Los Angeles Times

About 10% of all births worldwide are classified as preterm, which occurs when a baby is born before 37 weeks gestation.

From Science Daily

On Wednesday, FX dropped a longer teaser of the highly anticipated "Alien: Earth" that is giving birth vibes.

From Salon

Related Words

• dawn
• emergence
• opening
• origin