born
Having from birth (or as if from birth) a certain quality or character; innate; inherited.
Adjective
- Having from birth (or as if from birth) a certain quality or character; innate; inherited.
- In the United States, information describing the operation of nuclear weapons is born secret.
- a born leader
- I'll make it out, deny it he that can, / His Worship is a True-born Engliſhman, / In all the Latitude that Empty Word / By Modern Acceptation's understood. - 1701 January (indicated as 1700), [Daniel Defoe], “Part II”,...
Origin
From Middle English born, boren, borne, iborne, from Old English boren, ġeboren, from Proto-West Germanic *boran, *gaboran, from Proto-Germanic *buranaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to bear, carry”), equivalent to bear + -en. Cognate with Saterland Frisian gebooren (“born”), West Frisian berne (“born”), Dutch geboren (“born”), German geboren (“born”), Swedish boren (“born”).
Related
Derived
aborn aborning afterborn all one's born days baseborn base-born be born last week be born yesterday born again born-again born-again virgin born-alive born and bred born at night but not last night born digital born-free born in a barn born in a mill born in the purple born in the vestry born killer born leader bornless born loser
Noun
- Alternative spelling of burn (a stream)
Origin
Dialectal variant of burn.
Forms
Verb form of, participle
- past participle of bear; given birth to.
- Although not born in the country, she qualifies for nationality through her grandparents.
- Born in 1937, I spent my early childhood in Spain.
- a Canadian-born singer-songwriter
- past participle of bear in other senses.
- In some monasteries the severity of the clausure is hard to be born. - 1784, Thomas Sheridan, Life of Dr. Swift, Section I:
- If I had not persuaded Harriet into liking the man, I could have born any thing. - 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for...
Verb Geordie, alt of
- Alternative spelling of burn (with fire etc.)