birth

Meanings

Noun

• The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
• An instance of childbirth.
• A beginning or start; a point of origin.
• The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
• That which is born.
• Misspelling of berth

Adjective

• A familial relationship established by childbirth.

Verb

• To bear or give birth to (a child).
• To produce, give rise to.

Related

Similar words

• biological, blood, consanguineous

Opposite words

• death

Origin

• From Middle English birthe (1250), from earlier burthe, burde, from Old Norse burðr, byrd (Old Swedish byrth, Swedish börd), replacing Old English ġebyrd (rare variant byrþ), equivalent to bear + -th (compare also berth). The Old Norse is from Proto-Germanic *burdiz (compare Old Frisian berde, berd); Old English ġebyrd is from prefixed *gaburþiz (compare Dutch geboorte, German Geburt), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥tis (compare Latin fors ("luck"), Old Irish brith), from *bʰer-. More at bear.
• From Middle English birthen, birðen, from the noun (see above).