born

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /bɔːn/, US /bɔːrn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English born, inherited from Old English boren, also geboren, the past participle of beran (“to bear, carry”),^[2][3][4] the source of bear.^[5] It is akin to Old High German giboran and Old Norse borinn.^[4] The -e- of the Middle English participle tended to drop after -r-, as in slain.^[2] Born and borne were differentiated about 1600:^[6][2] borne kept the sense “carried”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Brought forth by birth: Old English, about 725, in a version of Genesis.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In modern use the link with bear is no longer felt, and to be born has become in effect an intransitive verb.^[2][6] “Having from birth a certain character”, as in a born poet, is from the early 14th century^[2] or the late 10th century in the OED's to be born a poet construction.^[7] “Destined from birth” is from 1357.^[8] “Innate, inherited” is from 1710,^[2][7] and the colloquial in all one's born days, “in one's lifetime”, by 1742.^[2] An American verb born, “to give birth to; to come to birth”, is from 1932, chiefly in borning.^[7][9]

Timeline

• c. 725 – brought forth by birth.^[3]
• early 14th century – born with a character.^[2]
• 1357 – destined.^[8]
• c. 1600 – born and borne differentiated.^[6]
• 1710 – innate.^[2][7]
• 1742 – in one's born days.^[2]
• 1932 – verb, to give birth.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Brought into life by birth.
2. Having a quality or talent from birth: a born teacher.
3. Destined from birth.
4. Native to a place: Irish-born.

Related words

• bear
• borne
• birth
• bairn
• burden

Usage notes

Born is used of birth, while borne is the past participle of bear in its other senses, “carried, endured”.^[6] Wright's dialect dictionary records Scots and northern born fool, “an innate fool”, and born devil, “a downright rogue”.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)