[burth] 
| 1. | an act or instance of being born: the day of his birth. |
| 2. | the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring; childbirth; parturition: a difficult birth. |
| 3. | lineage; extraction; descent: of Grecian birth. |
| 4. | high or noble lineage: to be foolishly vain about one's birth. |
| 5. | natural heritage: a musician by birth. |
| 6. | any coming into existence; origin; beginning: the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea. |
| 7. | Archaic. something that is born. |
| 8. | to give birth to. |
| 9. | to assist in giving birth; act as midwife for. |
| 10. | give birth to,
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| birth (bûrth) n.
[Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.] Until recently the use of birth as a verb meaning "to bear (a child)" has been confined to Southern speech: "Heap o' good it do a woman to birth a mess o' young uns and raise 'em and then have 'em all go off to oncet" (Marjorie K. Rawlings). Recently, however, the nonstandard Southern usage has coincided with widespread usage of verbs derived from nouns, such as parent, network, and microwave. Birth in this new usage is most commonly found in its present participial form and is used as an adjective in compounds such as birthing center. |
birth (bûrth)
n.
The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of the mother.
The act or process of bearing young; parturition.
The circumstances or conditions relating to this event, as its time or location.
The set of characteristics or circumstances received from one's ancestors; inheritance.
Origin; extraction.
| birth (bûrth) Pronunciation Key
Noun The emergence and separation of offspring from the body of its mother, seen in all mammals except monotremes. Adjective Present at birth, as a defect in a bodily structure. |
Birth
As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke 2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after the birth of a son, and after the birth of a daughter double that number of days. At the close of that period she entered into the tabernacle or temple and offered up a sacrifice of purification (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:22). A son was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, being thereby consecrated to God (Gen. 17:10-12; comp. Rom. 4:11). Seasons of misfortune are likened to the pains of a woman in travail, and seasons of prosperity to the joy that succeeds child-birth (Isa. 13:8; Jer. 4:31; John 16:21, 22). The natural birth is referred to as the emblem of the new birth (John 3:3-8; Gal. 6:15; Titus 3:5, etc.).
