- child
- child [chīld]n.pl. children [ME, pl. childre (now dial. childer; children is double pl.) < OE cild, pl. cild, cildru < IE * gelt-, a swelling up < base * gel-, rounded (sense development: swelling — womb — fetus — offspring > Goth kilthei, womb, L globus, sphere]1. an infant; baby2. an unborn offspring; fetus3. a boy or girl in the period before puberty4. a son or daughter; offspring5.a) a descendantb) a member of a tribe, clan, etc.often used in pl. [children of Israel]6. a person like a child in interests, judgment, etc., or one regarded as immature and childish7. a person identified with a specified place, time, etc. [a child of the Renaissance]8. a thing that springs from a specified source; product [a child of one's imagination]9. Archaic CHILDE10. [Brit. Dial.] a female infant——————with childpregnantchildlessadj.childlessnessn.
English World dictionary. V. Neufeldt. 2014.