Birth Definition

bûrth
birthed, birthing, births
noun
births
The act of bringing forth offspring.
Webster's New World
The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; nativity.
Webster's New World
Origin or natal background.
A Spaniard by birth.
Webster's New World
The set of characteristics or circumstances received from one's ancestors; inheritance.
Strong-willed by birth; acquired their wealth through birth.
American Heritage
Good or noble lineage.
A man of birth.
Webster's New World
verb
birthed, birthing, births
To deliver (a baby).
American Heritage
To give birth (to)
Webster's New World
To bear (a child).
American Heritage

(dated or regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).

Wiktionary

(figuratively) To produce, give rise to.

Wiktionary
adjective
Relating or related biologically rather than by adoption; natural.
Birth mother, birth parents.
Webster's New World
Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure.
American Heritage Science

A familial relationship established by childbirth.

Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.
Wiktionary
idiom
give birth
  • to bring forth offspring
Webster's New World
give birth to
  • to bring forth (offspring)
  • to be the cause or origin of; originate; create
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Birth

Noun

Singular:
birth
Plural:
births

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Birth

Origin of Birth

  • From Middle English birthe (1250), from earlier burthe, burde, from Old Norse burðr, byrd (Old Swedish byrth, Swedish börd), replacing Old English gebyrd (rare variant byrþ). The Old Norse is from Proto-Germanic *burdiz (compare Old Frisian berde, berd); Old English gebyrd is from prefixed *gaburdiz (compare Dutch geboorte, German Geburt), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥tis (compare Latin fors ‘luck’, Old Irish brith), from *bʰer- ‘to carry, bear’. More at bear.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English probably of Scandinavian origin bher-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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