BABY

baby

(noun) a project of personal concern to someone; “this project is his baby”

baby

(noun) a very young mammal; “baby rabbits”

baby

(noun) the youngest member of a group (not necessarily young); “the baby of the family”; “the baby of the Supreme Court”

baby, babe, infant

(noun) a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk; “the baby began to cry again”; “she held the baby in her arms”; “it sounds simple, but when you have your own baby it is all so different”

baby

(noun) an unborn child; a human fetus; “I felt healthy and very feminine carrying the baby”; “it was great to feel my baby moving about inside”

child, baby

(noun) an immature childish person; “he remained a child in practical matters as long as he lived”; “stop being a baby!”

pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge

(verb) treat with excessive indulgence; “grandparents often pamper the children”; “Let’s not mollycoddle our students!”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

baby (plural babies)

A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.

Any very young animal, especially a vertebrate; many species have specific names for their babies, such as kittens for the babies of cats, puppies for the babies of dogs, and chickens for the babies of birds. See for more.

Unborn young; a fetus.

A person who is immature or infantile.

The lastborn of a family; the youngest sibling, irrespective of age.

Term of endearment for a girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse.

(informal) A form of address to a man or a woman considered to be attractive.

A pet project or responsibility.

An affectionate term for anything.

(archaic) A small image of an infant; a doll.

Synonyms

• (young human being): babe, babby, babbie, infant, see also baby

• (young animal): see youngling

• (immature or infantile person): big baby

• (term of endearment): love, see also sweetheart

Adjective

baby (not comparable) (used only before the noun)

Of a child: very young; of the age when he or she would be termed a baby or infant.

Of an animal: young.

Intended for babies.

(of vegetables, etc.) Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).

Usage notes

When referring to a human baby (as per noun sense 1 above) the usual practice is to treat 'human' as the adjective and 'baby' as the noun.

Synonyms

• (very young, of a child): little

Verb

baby (third-person singular simple present babies, present participle babying, simple past and past participle babied)

(transitive) To coddle; to pamper somebody like an infant.

(transitive) To tend (something) with care; to be overly attentive to (something), fuss over.

Anagrams

• Abby

Source: Wiktionary


Ba"by, n.; pl. Babies. Etym: [Dim. of babe]

Definition: An infant or young child of either sex; a babe.

2. A small image of an infant; a doll. Babies in the eyes, the minute reflection which one sees of one's self in the eyes of another. She clung about his neck, gave him ten kisses, Toyed with his locks, looked babies in his eyes. Heywood.

Ba"by, a.

Definition: Pertaining to, or resembling, an infant; young or little; as, baby swans. "Baby figure" Shak.

Ba"by, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Babied (p. pr. & vb. n.Babying.]

Definition: To treat like a young child; to keep dependent; to humor; to fondle. Young.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 April 2024

GRADUAL

(noun) (Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee starts as a yellow berry, changes into a red berry, and then is picked by hand to harvest. The red berry is de-shelled through a water soaking process and what’s left inside is the green coffee bean. This bean then dries in the sun for 3-5 days, where it is then packed and ready for sale.

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