English Online Dictionary. What means baby? What does baby mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English baby, babie (“baby”), a diminutive form of babe (“babe, baby”), equivalent to babe + -y/-ie (“endearing and diminutive suffix”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: bā'bē, IPA(key): /ˈbeɪbi/
- Rhymes: -eɪbi
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 Category:Baby animals for more.
- Unborn young; a fetus.
- A person who is immature, infantile or feeble.
- A person who is new to or inexperienced in something.
- The lastborn of a family; the youngest sibling, irrespective of age.
- A term of endearment used to refer to or address one's girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse.
- (informal) A form of address to a man or a woman considered to be attractive.
- A pet project or responsibility.
- 1996, Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy, Folio Society 2015, p. 902:
- Sovnarkom was Lenin's baby, it was where he focused all his energies […].
- 1996, Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy, Folio Society 2015, p. 902:
- An affectionate term for anything.
- (archaic) A small image of an infant; a doll.
Synonyms
- (young human being): babe, babby, babbie, infant, see also Thesaurus:baby
- (young animal): see Thesaurus:youngling
- (immature or infantile person): big baby
- (term of endearment): love, see also Thesaurus:sweetheart
Translations
See also
- gamete, zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, fetus
Adjective
baby (not comparable)
- (of vegetables, etc.) Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).
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.
- 1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, Chapter, [2]
- […] though he tried to be gruff and mature, he yielded to her and was glad to be babied.
- 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, "Friction," [3]
- Then the man effected measles and stayed off the job for six weeks, babying himself at home, though he lived just round the corner from my half-built house.
- 1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, Chapter, [2]
- (transitive) To tend (something) with care; to be overly attentive to (something), fuss over.
- 1967, "Mr. Mac and His Team," Time, 31 March, 1967, [4]
- In the past 27 years, "Mr. Mac," as he is known to his 46,000 teammates, has built and babied his McDonnell Co. from nothing into a $1 billion-a-year corporation.
- 1912, Linda Craig, interviewed by Theresa Forte, "Tree and Twig farm — a treasure chest of heirloom tomatoes," Welland Tribune, 25 May, 2012, [5]
- I have grown them for years and although some years are better than others, I have always had loads of tomatoes by not babying them, going easy on the water, and fertilizing with compost in the planting hole.
- 1967, "Mr. Mac and His Team," Time, 31 March, 1967, [4]
Derived terms
Pages starting with “baby”.
Related terms
- babe
See also
- child
- infant
- toddler
Anagrams
- Abby
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from English baby.
Noun
baby c (singular definite babyen, plural indefinite babyer)
- A baby, an infant.
- (slang) An attractive young female.
Inflection
Synonyms
- spædbarn
Derived terms
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English baby.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbeːbi/
- Hyphenation: ba‧by
Noun
baby m (plural baby's or babies, diminutive baby'tje n)
- baby (infant)
- Synonym: zuigeling
Derived terms
- babyboom
- babyface
- babyfoon
- babykleding
- babykleren
- babyluier
- babypoeder
- babyshampoo
Finnish
Alternative forms
- beibi
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbei̯bi/, [ˈbe̞i̯bi]
- IPA(key): /ˈbɑby/, [ˈbɑby] (rare)
Noun
baby
- baby (term of endearment)
- baby (very young human)
Declension
This spelling should preferably be used in nominative only as it does not fit into any standard inflection scheme.
Synonyms
- (very young human) vauva
- (term of endearment) kulta
French
Etymology
From English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ba.bi/
Noun
baby m (plural babys)
- table soccer, table football
- baby, darling, sweetheart
Further reading
- “baby” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Interlingua
Noun
baby
- baby
Synonyms
- bebe
Italian
Etymology
From English baby.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbe.bi/
Noun
baby m (invariable)
- child, baby, neonate
- a small shot of whisky
- tripod for a film camera
Adjective
baby (invariant)
- For use by young children
- Very young
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbabɨ/
Noun
baby
- inflection of baba:
- genitive singular
- nominative/accusative plural
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From English baby
Noun
baby m (definite singular babyen, indefinite plural babyer, definite plural babyene)
- a baby
Synonyms
- spedbarn
Derived terms
- babymat
- babyolje
References
- “baby” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From English baby
Noun
baby m (definite singular babyen, indefinite plural babyar, definite plural babyane)
- a baby
Synonyms
- spedbarn
Derived terms
- babymat
- babyolje
References
- “baby” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈba.bɨ/
Noun
baby f
- inflection of baba:
- genitive singular
- nominative/accusative/vocative plural
Slovak
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈbabi]
Noun
baby
- inflection of baba:
- genitive singular
- nominative/accusative plural
Spanish
Noun
baby m (plural babys)
- baby