birth

n. [ OE. burth, birth, AS. beorð, gebyrd, fr. beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. geboorte, OHG. burt, giburt, G. geburt, Icel. burðr, Skr. bhrti bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe born, brought forth. √92. See 1st Bear, and cf. Berth. ] 1. The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; -- generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency. [ 1913 Webster ]

A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. “At her next birth.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Poets are far rarer births than kings. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire. [ 1913 Webster ]

New birth (Theol.), regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the act or process of deliberately limiting the number of one's children born, especially by preventing conception. Conception may be prevented by ingesting medicines, using barriers such as condoms or spermicides during copulation, or by ligating or removing the reproductive organs.
Syn. -- birth prevention, family planning. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. The day in which any person is born; day of origin or commencement. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those barbarous ages past, succeeded next
The birthday of invention. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The day of the month in which a person was born, in whatever succeeding year it may recur; the anniversary of one's birth. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is my birthday; as this very day
Was Cassius born. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the day of birth, or its anniversary; as, birthday gifts or festivities. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Birth + -dom. ] The land of one's birth; one's inheritance. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. to give birth to.
Syn. -- give birth, deliver, bear, birth, have. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. (Naut.) Anything added to raise the sides of a ship. Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. the act or process of giving birth. [ PJC ]

a. Of mean extraction. [ R. ] Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]