Etymologically
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birthplace

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈbɝθˌpleɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English birth + place.[2][3][4] The OED notes that its first use, in 1549, follows Medieval Latin locus natalis, used from the 11th century in British and continental sources.[2] Middle English had birthstede, recorded about 1400.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The place where a person was born: 1549, in Chaloner's translation of Erasmus's Praise of Folly.[2] Etymonline dates the word to about 1600,[3] Dictionary.com to 1600–10,[4] and Merriam-Webster to 1610.[5]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word could also mean the place where something originated or began.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as the place where anyone is born, quoting Shakespeare's Coriolanus ("My birthplace have I and my lovers left").[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – Middle English birthstede, an earlier word for it.[3]
  • 1549 – the place where a person was born; also where something began.[2]
  • 1755 – defined in Johnson's dictionary.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The place, such as a house, town or country, where a person was born: She returned to her birthplace after forty years abroad.[7][5][2]
  2. The place where something originated or began: the birthplace of jazz.[7][5][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins