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Webster 1913 Edition


Birth

Birth

(bẽrth)
,
Noun.
[OE.
burth
,
birth
, AS.
beorð
,
gebyrd
, fr.
beran
to bear, bring forth; akin to D.
geboorte
, OHG.
burt
,
giburt
, G.
geburt
, Icel.
burðr
, Skr.
bhrti
bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael.
beirthe
born, brought forth. √92. See 1st
Bear
, and cf.
Berth
.]
1.
The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; – generally applied to human beings;
as, the
birth
of a son
.
2.
Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction.
Elected without reference to
birth
, but solely for qualifications.
Prescott.
3.
The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency.
A foe by
birth
to Troy’s unhappy name.
Dryden.
4.
The act of bringing forth;
as, she had two children at a
birth
.
“At her next birth.”
Milton.
5.
That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable.
Poets are far rarer
births
than kings.
B. Jonson.
Others hatch their eggs and tend the
birth
till it is able to shift for itself.
Addison.
6.
Origin; beginning;
as, the
birth
of an empire
.
New birth
(Theol.)
,
regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life.
Syn. – Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family.

Birth

,
Noun.
See
Berth
.
[Obs.]
De Foe.

Webster 1828 Edition


Birth

BIRTH

,
Noun.
berth. [L. partus, the participle of pario, to bear.]
1.
The act of coming into life, or of being born. Except in poetry, it is generally applied to human beings; as the birth of a son.
2.
Lineage; extraction; descent; as, Grecian birth.
It is used of high or low extraction; but is often used by way of distinction for a descent from noble or honorable parents and ancestors; as a man of birth.
3.
The condition in which a person is born.
A foe by birth to Troy.
4.
That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable.
5.
The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth.
6.
In a theological sense, regeneration is called the new birth.
7.
Origin; beginning; as the birth of an empire.

Definition 2024


birth

birth

English

Noun

birth (countable and uncountable, plural births)

  1. (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
  2. (countable) An instance of childbirth.
    Intersex babies account for roughly one per cent of all births.
  3. (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.
    the birth of an empire
  4. (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
    He was of noble birth, but fortune had not favored him.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Prescott, (Please provide the title of the work):
      elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications
  5. That which is born.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Ben Jonson, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Poets are far rarer births than kings.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Addison, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself.
  6. Misspelling of berth.

Antonyms

  • (beginning of life): death

Translations

References

  1. Robert K. Barnhart, ed., Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988; reprint, Edinburgh: Chambers, 2008), 95.
  2. Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson's 1874 Icelandic-English dictionary.
  3. Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller's 1898 Anglo-Saxon dictionary.

Adjective

birth (not comparable)

  1. A familial relationship established by childbirth.
    Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

Synonyms

Verb

birth (third-person singular simple present births, present participle birthing, simple past and past participle birthed)

  1. (dated or regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).
  2. (figuratively) To produce, give rise to.
    • 2006, R. Bruce Hull, Infinite Nature, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 9780226359441, page 156:
      Biological evolution created a human mind that enabled cultural evolution, which now outpaces and outclasses the force that birthed it.

Usage notes

Related terms

Translations

Derived terms


Albanian

Etymology

From birë (hole). The meaning of 'son, little boy' is a -th lengthening of bir 'son'.

Noun

birth m (indefinite plural birthe, definite singular birthi, definite plural birthat)

  1. pimple, blemish
  2. son, little boy
Related terms