virgin birth

noun

1. Theology. the doctrine or dogma that, by the miraculous agency of God, the birth of Christ did not impair or prejudice the virginity of Mary. Compare Immaculate Conception.
2. Zoology. parthenogenesis; parturition by a female who has not copulated.

virgin birth

¹

noun

1. another name for parthenogenesis

Virgin Birth

²

noun

1. the doctrine that Jesus Christ had no human father but was conceived solely by the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit so that Mary remained miraculously a virgin during and after his birth

Word History and Origins

Origin of virgin birth¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Example Sentences

But those offspring were made by tinkering with egg cells in laboratory dishes rather than by giving female animals the capacity for virgin birth, also known as parthenogenesis.

From Scientific American

Commonly referred to as a "virgin birth," most animals who reproduce this way are small invertebrates, or sometimes, long isolated, such as in a zoo.

From Salon

However, unlike how the New Testament portrays virgin births, in the animal kingdom, things are a little different.

From Salon

The first evidence of a virgin birth in crocodiles has been reported in a captive American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, who was housed on her own for 16 years in a zoo in Costa Rica.

From Scientific American

Scientists discovered a virgin birth in a stillborn crocodile that had only its mother’s genetic material.

From New York Times