birth
/bɜːθ/ (bre, ipa) · [bˈɚθ] /bɜːrθ/ (ame, ipa) · [bˈɚθ] /ˈbərth/ (ame, mw) · [bˈɚθ] /bɝːθ/ (ame, ipa)
birth — 名詞
- birthsingular
- birthsplural
1. the event or process in which a baby is delivered, or an animal enters the world
分娩；生產
嬰兒或幼獸出生的過程
the event or process in which a baby is delivered, or an animal enters the world from its mother
Ada stayed calm throughout the long birth in the small village clinic.
Ada 在那間小村莊診所裡，整段漫長的分娩過程都很冷靜。
medical setting: a long birth in a clinic
The horse needed help because the birth started two weeks early.
因為生產提早兩週開始，那匹馬需要協助。
Christopher missed breakfast while waiting outside the room during the birth.
Christopher 在分娩進行時守在房外，連早餐都錯過了。
The loud storm made the difficult birth even more stressful for everyone.
那場大暴風雨讓這次艱難的分娩變得更加緊張。
- childbirth
usually refers to human delivery rather than animal young
- delivery
more medical and often used in hospitals
用法筆記
Used for the event itself or the whole period of delivery, not for the baby after delivery.
2. a baby counted as newly born, especially in medical or official records
新生兒
正式統計中的剛出生嬰兒
a baby counted as newly born, especially in medical or official records
The clinic recorded 412 live births in the town last year.
那座城鎮去年記錄了 412 名活產新生兒。
formal statistics: live births
Female births were more common than male births in that district.
那個地區的女性新生兒比男性新生兒更多。
The report tracked premature births during the winter virus season.
那份報告追蹤了冬季病毒流行期間的早產新生兒。
Doctors compared live births in villages and nearby cities.
醫師比較了村莊與附近城市的活產新生兒數量。
用法筆記
Mostly seen in formal phrases such as live births or multiple births, not in everyday talk about one baby.
3. a person's family origin and inherited social standing, especially where rank ma
門第；出身
家世帶來的社會地位
a person's family origin and inherited social standing, especially where rank matters
Because of her noble birth, Yael entered circles others could not.
因為 Yael 門第高貴，她得以進入別人進不去的圈子。
collocation: noble birth
His birth gave him land, servants, and a seat at court.
他的出身讓他擁有土地、僕人，還有宮廷席位。
In that old system, talent mattered less than birth.
在那套舊制度裡，才能不如門第重要。
People judged her by birth before hearing her ideas.
人們還沒聽她的想法，就先按她的出身評斷她。
- lineage
stresses family line rather than social rank itself
- background
broader and less tied to class or inherited status
用法筆記
Focuses on family rank or inherited class position, not on nationality or birthplace.
4. the place, nationality, or ethnic group someone belongs to because of where they
原籍；族裔
因出生地或父母而有的原屬身分
the place, nationality, or ethnic group someone belongs to because of where they were born or who their parents are
Madison is Canadian by birth but has lived in Seoul for years.
Madison 原籍加拿大，但已在首爾住了很多年。
pattern: nationality + by birth
Though British by birth, Faisal grew up speaking Arabic at home.
Faisal 雖然原籍英國，卻是在家裡說阿拉伯語長大的。
By birth, Gita belonged to the island's smallest ethnic group.
依出生而論，Gita 屬於島上人口最少的族裔群體。
The actor was Italian by birth and Mexican by citizenship.
那位演員原籍義大利，但國籍是墨西哥。
- origin
broader and not always limited to birth
- nationality
focuses on national belonging rather than ethnic background
用法筆記
Used with nationality, birthplace, or ethnic origin, not with family rank or social class.
5. the point when something new first starts or comes into existence
起源；開端
某事物開始出現的時刻
the point when something new first starts or comes into existence
Cheap phones helped mark the birth of online shopping in small towns.
便宜手機幫助標誌著小鎮網路購物的開端。
pattern: the birth of + new activity
Historians link the birth of jazz to several Southern cities.
歷史學家把爵士樂的起源連到幾座南方城市。
The stormy debate was the birth of a new student movement.
那場激烈辯論成了新學生運動的起源。
That meeting marked the birth of their plan to open a bakery.
那次會議標誌著他們開麵包店計畫的開端。
- end
the point where something finishes rather than starts
用法筆記
Often appears in the pattern the birth of something to describe a new idea, group, period, or plan starting.
birth — 動詞
- birthpresent simple I / you / we / they
- births3rd person singular
- birthing-ing form
- birthedpast simple
1. for a woman or female animal to have young and bring them into the world
產下
生下孩子或幼獸
for a woman or female animal to have young and bring them into the world
The cow birthed a calf just before sunrise in the wet field.
那頭母牛在潮濕的田裡，日出前剛產下一頭小牛。
animal-care writing: birth used as a verb
After a long labor, the mother birthed a healthy girl at dawn.
經過長時間陣痛後，那位母親在黎明時產下一名健康女嬰。
The mare birthed during the night while Hyun checked the barn.
那匹母馬在夜裡產下幼駒時，Hyun 正在檢查穀倉。
The whale birthed far from the noisy boats at dawn.
那頭鯨魚在天亮時，遠離吵雜船隻的地方產下幼仔。
用法筆記
More direct and less common than the usual phrase give birth, and often seen in medical, animal-care, or activist writing.
2. to help a woman or animal through delivery so the baby or young can be born safe
接生
協助孩子或幼獸出生
to help a woman or animal through delivery so the baby or young can be born safely
The midwife birthed two babies during the power cut last night.
那位助產士在昨晚停電時接生了兩個嬰兒。
professional helper as subject
Only trained staff may birth foals on this farm.
在這座農場裡，只有受過訓練的人員可以替小馬接生。
The vet birthed the weak lamb and rubbed it dry.
獸醫替那隻虛弱的小羊接生，接著把牠擦乾。
Nurses worked in pairs to birth the baby safely.
護理師兩人一組合作，好安全地替那名嬰兒接生。
用法筆記
This sense is about assisting the delivery, so the subject is usually a midwife, nurse, vet, or another helper.
3. to bring a new idea, group, period, or habit into existence
催生；孕育
使新事物開始存在
to bring a new idea, group, period, or habit into existence
The online protest birthed a wider debate about school rules.
那場線上抗議催生了關於校規的更大辯論。
figurative use: cause something new to exist
Shared anger birthed a union that spread across three factories.
共同的憤怒孕育出一個擴散到三家工廠的工會。
The crisis birthed new habits around saving food and money.
那場危機催生了圍繞節省食物與金錢的新習慣。
That noisy garage birthed several bands now famous across Europe.
那間吵雜的車庫孕育出好幾個如今紅遍歐洲的樂團。
用法筆記
Often used in formal or vivid writing for changes that seem to grow out of a situation, not for making one physical object.
birth — 形容詞
- birthpositive
- birthercomparative
- birthestsuperlative
1. used for the parent, child, or family linked by blood rather than by adoption
親生的
指與收養相對的血緣關係
used for the parent, child, or family linked by blood rather than by adoption
At sixteen, Tariq searched online for his birth mother.
十六歲時，Tariq 上網尋找自己的親生母親。
before-noun use: birth mother
The papers listed both adoptive parents and the birth father.
文件同時列出了養父母與親生父親。
The child met her birth parents after she turned eighteen.
那個孩子在滿十八歲後見到了自己的親生父母。
After years abroad, Christopher met members of his birth family.
旅居國外多年後，Christopher 見到了自己的親生家人。
- biological
more formal and used across a wider range of contexts
- genetic
focuses more narrowly on inherited physical or medical traits
- adoptive
describes the legal family relationship instead of the blood one
用法筆記
Usually comes before nouns such as mother, father, parent, or family when someone is adopted or comparing legal and biological relationships.