baby

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Contents

English[edit]

A human baby.
A baby monkey.
A baby elephant (sometimes called a calf).

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English babee, babi (baby), from babe (babe, baby), equivalent to babe +‎ -y/-ie (endearing and diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

baby (plural babies)

  1. A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.
  2. 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 chicks for the babies of birds. See Category:Baby animals for more.
  3. A person who is immature or infantile.
    Stand up for yourself - don't be such a baby!
  4. A term of endearment for a girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse.
  5. (informal) A form of address to a man or a woman considered to be attractive.
    Hey baby, what are you doing later?
  6. A pet project or responsibility.
    The annual report has been my baby since September.
  7. The lastborn of a family; a benjamin.
  8. An affectionate term for anything.
    See my new car here? I can't wait to take this baby for a drive.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Adjective[edit]

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

  1. Of a child: very young; of the age when he or she would be termed a baby or infant.
    a baby boy
  2. Of an animal: young.
    a baby elephant
  3. Intended for babies.
    baby clothes
  4. (of vegetables, etc.) Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).

Usage notes[edit]

When refering 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[edit]

  • (very young, of a child): little
  • (intended for babies): baby's

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

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

  1. To coddle.

Derived terms[edit]

Look at pages starting with baby.

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]


Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English baby.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

baby m (plural baby's, diminutive baby'tje)

  1. baby (infant)

Finnish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: ba‧by
  • IPA: /ˈbeibi/ or (rarely) IPA: /ˈbɑby/

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

baby

  1. baby (term of endearment)
  2. baby (very young human)

Declension[edit]

This spelling should preferably be used in nominative only as it does not fit into any standard inflection scheme.

Synonyms[edit]

  • (very young human) vauva
  • (term of endearment) kulta

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English

Noun[edit]

baby m (plural babys)

  1. table soccer, table football
  2. baby, darling, sweetheart