lying-in

[ lahy-ing-in ]

noun

, plural lyings-in, lying-ins.

1. the state of being in childbed; confinement.

adjective

1. pertaining to or providing facilities for childbirth:

   a lying-in hospital.

lying-in

noun

1. 1. confinement in childbirth
   2. ( as modifier )

      a lying-in hospital

Word History and Origins

Origin of lying-in¹

First recorded in 1400–50, lying-in is from late Middle English lyynge in. See lie ², -ing ¹, in

Example Sentences

Columbia Women’s opened for business inside a former mansion as a “hospital and dispensary for the treatment of diseases peculiar to women, and a lying-in asylum,” according to its congressional charter.

From Washington Post

This factory bank was "a great boon to the married women ... as a kind of lying-in club."

From Time

It was easy for his opponents, for the most part managers of the great lying-in asylums, to show from clinical experiences the weakness of so one-sided a theory.

From Project Gutenberg

For all practical purposes 60� to 63� F. is quite sufficient, and surgical and lying-in cases do well in lower temperatures.

From Project Gutenberg

Suitable supplementary out-buildings for lunatics, and lying-in apartments, are on the same grounds; and the whole is encompassed by a permanent brick wall.

From Project Gutenberg