Birth1, n.
n. [A-S. beordh, byrd, from beran, beoran, to bear, bring forth; Goth. gabaurths, O. H. Ger. buri, giburt, N. H. Ger. geburt, D. geboorte. Cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe, born, brought forth,]
Sense 1. The act of coming into life, or of being born. Except in poetry, it is generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son.
Sense 2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes high birth; noble extraction; as, Grecian birth.
Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications. Prescott.
Sense 3. The condition in which a person is born; natural state or position.
A foe by birth to Troy’s unhappy name. Dryden.
Sense 4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. “At her next birth.” Milton.
Sense 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. Adelison.
And wealthy births confess the flood’s embrace. Blackmore.
Sense 6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire.
New birth (Theol.), regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life.