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pregnancy

Etymology and origin of the English word pregnancy

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1520s
Ultimate origins
Latin (praegnans)English (-cy)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English pregnant
English pregnancy

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpreɡ.nən.si/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English pregnant + -cy.[2][3][4][5] An earlier word in the sense was pregnacioun (early 15th century), from Old French pregnacion and Latin praegnātiō.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Originally figurative, in the 1520s, before 1529 in the OED;[2][6] the SOED has fertility of mind, inventiveness, from the late 15th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense, the condition of being with child, is from the 1590s, 1598 in the OED.[2][6] Fertility of mind or quickness of wit is from 1550,[6] and of the soil, fruitfulness, from 1615.[6] In the 17th century a promising youth could be called a pregnancy.[6] Fullness of meaning in words is from 1841.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1520s – figurative uses.[2]
  • 1550 – fertility of mind.[6]
  • 1598 – the condition of being with child.[6]
  • 1615 – fertility of soil.[6]
  • 1841 – fullness of meaning.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The condition of being pregnant.
  2. An instance of being pregnant, or the period from conception to birth.
  3. (literary) Richness in meaning or significance.
  4. (archaic) Inventiveness; quickness of mind.

Word family

  • postpregnancy
  • ectopic pregnancy
  • false pregnancy
  • toxemia of pregnancy

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Pregnancy.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pregnancy. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·