- birth
- early 13c., from O.N. *byršr (replacing cognate O.E. gebyrd "birth, descent, race; offspring; nature; fate"), from P.Gmc. *gaburthis (cf. O.Fris. berd, O.S. giburd, Du. geboorte, Ger. geburt, Goth. gabauržs), from PIE *bhrto pp. of base *bher- (1) "to bear" (cf. Skt. bhrtih "a bringing, maintenance," L. fors, gen. fortis "chance;" see bear (v.)). Suffix -th is for "process" (as in bath, death). Meaning "parentage, lineage, extraction" (revived from O.E.) is from mid-13c. Birth control is from 1914; birth rate from 1859.