birth (bɜːθ
)
Definitions
noun
- the process of bearing young; parturition; childbirth related adjective natal
- the act or fact of being born; nativity
- the coming into existence of something; origin
- ancestry; lineage ⇒
of high birth
- noble ancestry ⇒
a man of birth
- natural or inherited talent ⇒
an artist by birth
- archaic the offspring or young born at a particular time or of a particular mother
- See give birth
verb (tr)
rare- to bear or bring forth (a child)
Word Origin
C12: from Old Norse byrth ; related to Gothic gabaurths , Old Swedish byrdh , Old High German berd child; see bearC12: from Old Norse ; related to Gothic , Old Swedish , Old High German child; see 1, , bairnSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
beginning,
start,
rise,
source,
origin,
emergence,
outset,
genesis,
initiation,
inauguration,
inception,
commencement,
fountainhead,
Quotations
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,Hath had elsewhere its setting,And cometh from afar"
"Birth, and copulation, and death.That's all the facts when you come to brass tacks:Birth, and copulation and death.I've been born, and once is enough"
"It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other"
"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval"
Translations
- British English:
birth
When a baby is born, you refer to this event as its birth.The twins were separated at birth.bɜːθ NOUN The twins were separated at birth.
- Spanish:
nacimiento
nm
- French:
naissance
nf
- German:
Geburt
nf
- Chinese: 出生 n
- Arabic: مِيلاد n
- Portuguese: nascimento nm
- Russian: рождение nnt
- Croatian: rođenje nnt
- Czech: narození nnt
- Danish: fødsel nutr
- Dutch: geboorte nf
- Finnish: syntymä n
- Greek: γέννηση nf
- Italian: nascita nf
- Japanese: 誕生 n
- Korean: 출생 n
- Norwegian: fødsel nm
- Polish: narodziny npl
- Brazilian Portuguese: nascimento nm
- European Spanish:
nacimiento
nm
- Swedish: födelse nutr
- Thai: การเกิด n
- Turkish: doğum n
- Vietnamese: sự sinh đẻ n
Usage examples
She's never quite come to terms with having given birth to a singleton instead of a pair.
, SOMEBODY (2002)In August 2002, UK-based PPL Therapeutics announced the birth of five normal-sized piglets lacking both copies of the gene.
New Scientist (2003)Mr Kevin Flannery of the Department of the Marine believed the survivors may also owe their lives to the birth of a calf.
Irish Times (2002)Traditionally, they band together and visit families who are celebrating the birth of a child.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Not long after he had returned home his mother gave birth to his sister.
, BEYOND FEAR (2002)