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

Now, she’s fully present and focused on preparing for the birth of their child, and he’s mentally stronger, becoming a counselor who helps various other survivors that have returned from Borderland.

From Salon

Bush, had proclaimed the birth of a “new world order,” and the less said about that ignominious phrase, the better.

From Salon

Without birthright citizenship, children born to noncitizen parents could be denied citizenship at birth.

From Salon

Dr Griffiths said pregnant women with adenomyosis also had a much higher rate of miscarriage, premature births and issues like pre-eclampsia, but that risks could be well managed with increased monitoring by healthcare professionals.

From BBC

Another factor, albeit a fraction of the overall increase, was that there were slightly more births than deaths in the year to mid-2024.

From BBC

Related Words

• beginning 
• childbirth 
• creation 
• delivery