childbirth
/ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌbɝθ/ noun
Forms childbirths child-birth
- noun The fact or action of giving birth to a child, as the culmination of pregnancy; the process by which it happens.
Synonyms
parturition labour delivery childbearing accouchement vaginal birth
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English childbyrth [and other forms], perhaps a partial calque of Old Norse barnburðr (“childbearing, childbirth”, literally “bairn birth”); equivalent to child + birth. Compare Swedish barnsbörd (“childbirth”), Icelandic barnsburður (“childbirth”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “childbirth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details