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childbirth

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Etymology and origin of the English word childbirth

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1450 perhaps before 1450, a Middle English translation of Macer's Herbal
Ultimate origins
Old English cildOld Norse byrð
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English child
English childbirth

Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English child + birth.[2][3][4][5] Child goes back to Old English ċild (“fetus, infant”),[3] and birth was probably taken from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse *byrðr, replacing the related ġebyrd (“birth, descent”).[3][2] The OED compares the related words childbearing and childing.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The process of giving birth to a child: first recorded perhaps before 1450, in a Middle English translation of Macer's herbal,[2][6] and dated to the mid-15th century by Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.[3][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the same since the 15th century; the OED notes that the word is also used figuratively.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "travail; labour; the time of bringing forth; the act of bringing forth", quoting Sidney's Arcadia on a mother who died "shortly after her childbirth".[5] The Historical Thesaurus places it among the words for confinement and delivery.[6]

Timeline

  • perhaps before 1450 – the process of giving birth.[2][6]
  • mid-15th century – Etymonline's date.[3]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as travail or labour.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act or process of giving birth to a child; labour and delivery: Her grandmother had died in childbirth.[8][7][2]
  2. (figurative) The bringing forth of something new.[2]

Usage notes

The adjective that corresponds to it in meaning is obstetric.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e 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 Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  6. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Childbirth.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/childbirth. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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