Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Birth"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Birth
As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt
(Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke
2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after
the birth of a son, and after the birth of a daughter double
that number of days. At the close of that period she entered
into the tabernacle or temple and offered up a sacrifice of
purification (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:22). A son was circumcised on
the eighth day after his birth, being thereby consecrated to God
(Gen. 17:10-12; comp. Rom. 4:11). Seasons of misfortune are
likened to the pains of a woman in travail, and seasons of
prosperity to the joy that succeeds child-birth (Isa. 13:8; Jer.
4:31; John 16:21, 22). The natural birth is referred to as the
emblem of the new birth (John 3:3-8; Gal. 6:15; Titus 3:5,
etc.).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Berth \Berth\, n. [From the root of bear to produce, like birth
nativity. See {Birth}.] [Also written {birth}.]
1. (Naut.)
(a) Convenient sea room.
(b) A room in which a number of the officers or ship's
company mess and reside.
(c) The place where a ship lies when she is at anchor, or
at a wharf.
2. An allotted place; an appointment; situation or
employment. ``He has a good berth.'' --Totten.
3. A place in a ship to sleep in; a long box or shelf on the
side of a cabin or stateroom, or of a railway car, for
sleeping in.
{Berth deck}, the deck next below the lower gun deck. --Ham.
Nav. Encyc.
{To give} (the land or any object) {a wide berth}, to keep at
a distance from it.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Birth \Birth\ (b[~e]rth), n. [OE. burth, birth, AS. beor[edt],
gebyrd, fr. beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. geboorte,
OHG. burt, giburt, G. geburt, Icel. bur[eth]r, Skr. bhrti
bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe born, brought
forth. [root]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.
2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble
extraction.
Elected without reference to birth, but solely for
qualifications. --Prescott.
3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or
position; inherited disposition or tendency.
A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name. --Dryden.
4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a
birth. ``At her next birth.'' --Milton.
5. That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal
or vegetable.
Poets are far rarer births than kings. --B. Jonson.
Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it
is able to shift for itself. --Addison.
6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire.
{New birth} (Theol.), regeneration, or the commencement of a
religious life.
Syn: Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Birth \Birth\, n.
See {Berth}. [Obs.] --De Foe.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
birth
n 1: the time when something begins (especially life); "they
divorced after the birth of the child" or "his election
signaled the birth of a new age" [ant: {death}]
2: the event of being born; "they celebrated the birth of their
first child" [syn: {nativity}, {nascency}, {nascence}]
[ant: {death}]
3: the process of giving birth [syn: {parturition}, {giving
birth}, {birthing}]
4: the kinship relation of an offspring to the parents [syn: {parentage}]
v : give birth (to a newborn); "My wife had twins yesterday!"
[syn: {give birth}, {deliver}, {bear}, {have}]
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