baby English · revision 3601

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1377 (Piers Plowman)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbeɪ.bi/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|babi]] (also [[m|enm|baby]], [[m|enm|babee]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a diminutive of [[babe]] with the suffix [[-y]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Like babe, it is probably imitative of the repeated “ba” of an infant's first attempts at speech,^(COED 2004)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) as are [[babble]], [[mama]] and [[papa]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An infant or young child of either sex: 1377, in a version of ''Piers Plowman'';^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the word was at first a synonym of ''child''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century a ''baby'' was also a doll or puppet,^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) and in the 1590s also the tiny image of oneself seen in the pupil of another's eye,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a sense Etymonline compares with [[pupil]].^(Etymonline) A childish adult has been a ''baby'' from about 1600,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the young of an animal since 1659.^(HTOED) The adjective is recorded from 1591^(MW Collegiate) or 1750,^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) and the verb “to treat like a baby” from 1742.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A lover or sweetheart has been called ''baby'' since 1684 according to the Historical Thesaurus,^(HTOED) or perhaps since 1839 and certainly by 1901 according to Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the OED found the degree of slang in the 19th-century examples hard to judge.^(Etymonline) A person's invention or special concern is their ''baby'' from 1890,^(OED 1989) and the youngest of a group from 1897.^(Etymonline) The phrase ''throw the baby out with the bathwater'' is from a German saying, recorded in English from 1909.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – an infant (''Piers Plowman'').^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1552 – a doll (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1593 – one's reflection in another's pupil.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – a childish person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1659 – a young animal.^(HTOED)

+ * 1684 – a lover, sweetheart.^(HTOED)

+ * 1742 – verb, to treat like a baby.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – one's own creation or concern.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1897 – the youngest of a group.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – ''throw the baby out with the bathwater''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very young child; an [[infant]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The youngest member of a family or group.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A very young animal.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # A person who behaves in a childish way.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(slang)'' A lover or sweetheart, often as a term of address.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Something that is one's own creation or responsibility.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or for a baby.^(AHD)

+ # Very small of its kind: ''baby carrots''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To treat with excessive care; to [[pamper]] or [[coddle]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[babyhood]]

+ * [[babyish]]

+ * [[babyishly]]

+ * [[babyishness]]

+ * [[babylike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[babe]]

+ * [[babble]]

+ * [[mama]]

+ * [[papa]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}