lying-in

American  

[lahy-ing-in] / ˈlaɪ ɪŋˈɪn /

noun

plural

lyings-in, lying-ins

1. the state of being in childbed; confinement.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or providing facilities for childbirth.

   a lying-in hospital.

lying-in British  

noun

1. 1. confinement in childbirth

   2. ( as modifier )

      a lying-in hospital

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Etymology

Origin of lying-in

First recorded in 1400–50, lying-in is from late Middle English lyynge in. See lie ², -ing ¹, in

Example Sentences

Columbia Women’s opened for business inside a former mansion as a “hospital and dispensary for the treatment of diseases peculiar to women, and a lying-in asylum,” according to its congressional charter.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2019

The large lying-in cast of Life Begins emphasizes the predicament of its most pathetic member, Grace Sutton.

From Time Magazine Archive

His mother, during her lying-in period in the year 1812, was reading a popular novel, The Three Spaniards, that had as its hero a derring-do lad named Fernando.

From Time Magazine Archive

"As a result, it occasionally occurred that an otherwise healthy young woman dropped dead of a pulmonary embolism as she was getting into a taxi with her baby to leave the lying-in hospital."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Aha!" exclaimed the doctor, pouncing upon the volume and glancing at the title-page, "here we have it; here's enough to convert a lying-in hospital into Bedlam."

From Mr. Claghorn's Daughter by Trent, Hilary