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

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. 1. to bear (offspring)

   2. to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)

verb

1. to bear or bring forth (a child)

birth

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

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

Other Word Forms

• multibirth 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.

see give birth to.

Example Sentences

They got a much-deserved happy end in the series finale when Anna gave birth to their first child.

From Los Angeles Times

At the trial, he gave his date of birth as December 1986, making him 38, but court records suggested he was 41.

From BBC

A court orders that a trust be set up to manage a financial award made to her severely disabled son, reportedly from the NHS, linked to his premature birth.

From BBC

Getting back to the last four of a major is another impressive milestone for Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023.

From BBC

Japan's Osaka did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023 and her road back to the top of the game she once dominated has been gradual.

From BBC

Related Words

• beginning 
• childbirth 
• creation 
• delivery