Throwing the Baby Out With the Bathwater Is German
A baby is a very young child. The famous idiom about it was translated from a German proverb.
A baby is a very young child, especially one not yet walking. *Throw the baby out with the bathwater* is not native English: it translates German *das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten*, recorded from 1512, and entered English only in the nineteenth century through Thomas Carlyle, who translated it directly. Other baby idioms are homegrown — *sleep like a baby* is optimistic given how babies actually sleep, and *baby steps* means small careful progress.
- A very young child. *A newborn baby.*
- A term of endearment. *Baby.*
- Baby steps — small progress. *Baby steps.*
- Throw out the bathwater — from German. *The idiom.*
- Imitative. *From infant sounds.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | baby | A baby. |
| Plural | babies | Babies. |
| Verb | baby | Baby them. |
| Adjective | babyish | Babyish. |
| Related | babe | A babe. |
- The baby slept through the night.Child.
- Let us not throw out the baby.Idiom.
- Carlyle translated it from German.History.
Idioms English borrowed by translation
- Throw the baby out with the bathwater — German, via Carlyle
- Long time no see — probably a Chinese calque
- It goes without saying — French *cela va sans dire*
- That's not my cup of tea — native English
- Blue blood — Spanish *sangre azul*
Middle English *babi*, from *babe*, imitative of infant sounds.
Where does throwing the baby out with the bathwater come from?
A German proverb recorded in 1512, brought into English by Thomas Carlyle in the nineteenth century.
What is a calque?
A phrase translated word for word from another language rather than borrowed as it stands, like it goes without saying from French.