Birth Is a Norse Word in an English Sentence
Birth is the act of being born. The word came from Old Norse and replaced the native English term, as several everyday words did.
Birth is the act of being born, or origin more generally. The word is Norse: Old English had *gebyrd*, and the Scandinavian *byrðr* replaced it in the Middle English period — another of the intimate everyday words that Norse settlers left in English, alongside *sister*, *egg* and *skin*. The verb *bear* is native English and survives beside it.
- Being born. *The date of birth.*
- Origin. *The birth of an idea.*
- Ancestry. *Of noble birth.*
- Give birth — to deliver a child. *She gave birth at home.*
- Birthright — an entitlement by birth. *A birthright.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | birth | A home birth. |
| Plural | births | Births and deaths. |
| Verb | bear | To bear a child. |
| Past participle | born | Born in April. |
| Compound | birthday | A fortieth birthday. |
- Register the birth within six weeks.Administration.
- The birth of the railway age.Figurative origin.
- Born and borne are different past participles.Grammar.
Born or borne?
- Born — for being given birth to: *she was born in Leeds*
- Borne — for carrying: *he has borne the cost*
- Borne also for birth in the active voice: *she has borne three children*
- Airborne, waterborne — always borne
- One rule of thumb — if it means carried, it takes the e
Old Norse *byrðr*, birth, replacing Old English *gebyrd*. Both descend from the same Germanic root as the verb *bear*.
Is it born or borne?
Born for being brought into the world in the passive: she was born. Borne for carrying, and for active childbearing: she has borne three children.
Is birth a Norse word?
Yes. It replaced the Old English gebyrd during the Middle English period.