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

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

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

Synonyms:

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

Synonyms:

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

give birth
give birth to

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