Birthとは

意味・読み方・使い方

語源 1

From Middle English birthe (1250), from earlier burthe, burde,^[1] from Old Norse burðr, byrd^[2] (Old Swedish byrth, Swedish börd), replacing 古期英語 ġebyrd (まれに variant byrþ)^[3], equivalent to bear +‎ -th (compare also berth). The Old Norse is from Proto-Germanic *burdiz (compare Old Frisian berde, berd); 古期英語 ġebyrd is from prefixed *gaburþiz (compare Dutch geboorte, German Geburt), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥tis (compare Latin fors (“luck”), Old Irish brith), from *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). More at bear.

名詞

birth (countable かつ uncountable, 複数形 births)

1. (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
2. (countable) An instance of childbirth.

   Intersex babies account for roughly one per cent of all births.

3. (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.

   the birth of an empire

4. (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.

   He was of noble birth, but fortune had not favored him.

   • 1843, William H. Prescott, History Of The Conquest Of Mexico And History Of The Conquest Of Peru‎^[1], The Modern Library, page 42:

     without reference to birth, but solely for their qualifications

5. That which is born.
   • 1692, Ben Jonson, “Epigrams”, in The Works of Ben Jonson‎^[2], page 288:

     That poets are far rarer births than kings.

   • 1761, Joseph Addison, The Works of Joseph Addison‎^[3], volume 3, John Baskerville, page 49:

     Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself.

6. Misspelling of berth.

反意語

• (beginning of life): death

形容詞

birth (not comparable)

1. A familial relationship established by childbirth.

   Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

同意語

• biological, blood, consanguineous

語源 2

From Middle English birthen, birðen, from the noun (see above).

動詞

birth (三人称単数 現在形 births, 現在分詞 birthing, 過去形および過去分詞形 birthed)

1. (dated or regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).
   • 1939, Sidney Howard, Ben Hecht, Jo Swerling, John Van Druten, Oliver H.P. Garrett, Gone with the Wind (film):

     I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!

2. (figuratively) To produce, give rise to.
   • 2006, R. Bruce Hull, Infinite Nature‎^[4], University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 156:

     Biological evolution created a human mind that enabled cultural evolution, which now outpaces and outclasses the force that birthed it.

使用する際の注意点

• The term give birth (to) is much more common, especially in literal use.

関連する語

• bear
• born

派生語

参照