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birthing

[bur-thing]
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noun
  1. an act or instance of giving birth, especially by natural childbirth.
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Origin of birthing

First recorded in 1925–30; birth + -ing1

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.
  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.
  7. Archaic. something that is born.
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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.
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Idioms
  1. give birth to,
    1. to bear (a child).
    2. to initiate; originate: Her hobby gave birth to a successful business.
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Origin of birth

1150–1200; Middle English byrthe < Scandinavian; compare Old Swedish byrth; cognate with Old English gebyrd, Old High German giburt, Gothic gabaurths
Related formsmul·ti·birth, noun
Can be confusedberth birth

Synonyms

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3. parentage, ancestry, line, blood, family. 6. start, commencement, inception, genesis; launching, inauguration.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

deliverybearingchildbirthaccouchementchildbearinglying-inlaborparturition

Examples from the Web for birthing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Had not Yellow Hair been in the birthing wickiup with Redbird?

    Shaman

    Robert Shea

  • This one seems to be birthing the dictatorship of the intellectuals.

    The Sensitive Man

    Poul William Anderson

  • The big sad eyes of it were like those of Maisie, poor lass, when she had the birthing that was her going-call.

  • Hunt ducks in the fall, plow the land in the spring, help at the birthing of calves and lambs and foals?

    Plowing On Sunday

    Sterling North

  • She felt like telling Wind Bends Grass to leave the birthing wickiup.

    Shaman

    Robert Shea

British Dictionary definitions for birthing

birth

noun
  1. the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirthRelated adjective: natal
  2. the act or fact of being born; nativity
  3. the coming into existence of something; origin
  4. ancestry; lineageof high birth
  5. noble ancestrya man of birth
  6. natural or inherited talentan artist by birth
  7. archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
  8. give birth
    1. to bear (offspring)
    2. to produce, originate, or create (an idea, plan, etc)
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verb (tr) rare
  1. to bear or bring forth (a child)
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Word Origin

C12: from Old Norse byrth; related to Gothic gabaurths, Old Swedish byrdh, Old High German berd child; see bear 1, bairn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for birthing

birth

n.

early 13c., from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse *byrðr (replacing cognate Old English gebyrd "birth, descent, race; offspring; nature; fate"), from Proto-Germanic *gaburthis (cf. Old Frisian berd, Old Saxon giburd, Dutch geboorte, Old High German giburt, German geburt, Gothic gabaurþs), from PIE *bhrto past participle of root *bher- (1) "to carry; to bear children" (cf. Sanskrit bhrtih "a bringing, maintenance," Latin fors, genitive fortis "chance;" see bear (v.)). Suffix -th is for "process" (as in bath, death). Meaning "parentage, lineage, extraction" (revived from Old English) is from mid-13c. Birth control is from 1914; birth rate from 1859. Birth certificate is from 1842.

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birth

v.

mid-13c., from birth (n.). Related: Birthed; birthing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
birthing in Medicine

birthing

(bûr′thĭng)
adj.
  1. Having to do with or used during birth.
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n.
  1. The act of giving birth.
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birth

(bûrth)
n.
  1. The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of the mother.
  2. The act or process of bearing young; parturition.
  3. The circumstances or conditions relating to this event, as its time or location.
  4. The set of characteristics or circumstances received from one's ancestors; inheritance.
  5. Origin; extraction.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
birthing in Science

birth

[bûrth]
Noun
  1. The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes.
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Adjective
  1. Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with birthing

birth

see give birth to.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.