wombchild

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From womb +‎ child.

Noun

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wombchild (plural wombchildren)

  1. (poetic) A child still in the womb (i.e. a human embryo or fetus).
    • 2015, Ravens Station Steward, Ravens Station Steward:
      If ever there were retribution for shedding of innocent blood, who shall answer in the earth for this shedding of blood? That of the wombchild. Most innocent of blood.
    • 2016, Robert Bruce Newman, Calm Birth, page 173:
      Some words heard during the pregnancy, including words the mother is listening to carefully, again and again, can inspire a higher level of attention in the wombchild.
  2. (poetic) A child of one's womb, as opposed to one who is adopted.
    • 1985, S. M. Stirling, Snowbrother, page 19:
      Her wombchild Taimi burst into the hall, gasping, his eyes glittering with the heedless excitement of his fifteen years.
    • 1996, Gardner Dozois, The Year's Best Science Fiction, page 473:
      My mother, Guyr Thade Tage em Ereb, was impatient, warm-hearted, and impartial, not exerting much control over us three wombchildren, but keeping watch. [] I treasured it for years and finally shared it with my own wombchild.