Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the fetus at a developmental stage when it is ready to feed and breathe. In some species the offspring is precocial and can move around almost immediately after birth but in others it is altricial and completely dependent on parenting. In marsupials, the fetus is born at a very immature stage after a short gestational period and develops further in its mother’s womb’s pouch.
It is not only mammals that give birth. Some reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates carry their developing young inside them. Some of these are ovoviviparous, with the eggs being hatched inside the mother’s body, and others are viviparous, with the embryo developing inside her body, as in mammals.
Girth (noun)
A band passed under the belly of an animal, which holds a saddle in place.
Girth (noun)
The part of an animal around which the girth fits.
Girth (noun)
One’s waistline circumference, most often a large one.
Girth (noun)
A small horizontal brace or girder.
Girth (noun)
The distance measured around an object.
Girth (noun)
The length of the shortest cycle in a graph.
Girth (verb)
To bind as if with a girth or band.
Birth (noun)
The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
Birth (noun)
An instance of childbirth.
“Intersex babies account for roughly one per cent of all births.”
Birth (noun)
A beginning or start; a point of origin.
“the birth of an empire”
Birth (noun)
The circumstances of one’s background, ancestry, or upbringing.
“He was of noble birth, but fortune had not favored him.”
Birth (noun)
That which is born.
Birth (noun)
misspelling of berth
Birth (adjective)
A familial relationship established by childbirth.
“Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.”
Birth (verb)
To bear or give birth to (a child).
Birth (verb)
To produce, give rise to.
Girth (noun)
the measurement around the middle of something, especially a person’s waist
“an ivy-clad tree of immense girth”
“a pike with a girth of 24 inches”
“idle men of great girth”
Girth (noun)
a person’s waist or stomach, especially when large
“he tied the knotted towels around his girth”
Girth (noun)
a band attached to a saddle and fastened around a horse’s belly to keep the saddle in place.
Girth (verb)
surround; encircle
“the four seas that girth Britain”
Birth (noun)
the emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; the start of life as a physically separate being
“despite a difficult birth he’s fit and healthy”
“he was blind from birth”
Birth (noun)
the beginning or coming into existence of something
“the birth of Socialist Realism”
Birth (noun)
a person’s origin, descent, or ancestry
“he is of noble birth”
“the mother is English by birth”
Birth (verb)
give birth to (a baby or other young)
“she birthed five children within ten years”