different between birth vs generation

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: bûth, IPA^(key): /b???/, verb also: IPA^(key): /b??ð/
• (US) enPR: bûrth, IPA^(key): /b??/, verb also: IPA^(key): /b?ð/
• Rhymes: -??(?)?
• Homophone: berth

Etymology 1

From Middle English birthe (1250), from earlier burthe, burde, from Old Norse burðr, byrd (Old Swedish byrth, Swedish börd), replacing Old English ?ebyrd (rare variant byrþ), equivalent to bear +? -th (compare also berth). The Old Norse is from Proto-Germanic *burdiz (compare Old Frisian berde, berd); Old English ?ebyrd is from prefixed *gaburþiz (compare Dutch geboorte, German Geburt), from Proto-Indo-European *b?r?tis (compare Latin fors (“luck”), Old Irish brith), from *b?er- (“to carry, bear”). More at bear.

Noun

birth (countable and uncountable, plural births)

1. (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
2. (countable) An instance of childbirth.

3. (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.

4. (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
5. That which is born.
6. Misspelling of berth.

Antonyms

• (beginning of life): death

Translations

Adjective

birth (not comparable)

1. A familial relationship established by childbirth.

   Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

Synonyms

• biological, blood, consanguineous

Etymology 2

From Middle English birthen, birðen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

birth (third-person singular simple present births, present participle birthing, simple past and past participle birthed)

1. (dated or regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).
2. (figuratively) To produce, give rise to.

Usage notes

• The term give birth (to) is much more common, especially in literal use.

Related terms

• bear
• born

Translations

Derived terms

References

Albanian

Etymology 1

From birë (“hole”).

Noun

birth m (indefinite plural birthe, definite singular birthi, definite plural birthat)

1. pimple, blemish

Related terms

• birë

Etymology 2

Diminutive -th lengthening of bir (“son”).

Noun

birth m (indefinite plural birthe, definite singular birthi, definite plural birthat)

1. son, little boy

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman generacioun, Middle French generacion, and their source, Latin gener?ti?, from gener?re, present active infinitive of gener? (“to beget, generate”). Compare generate.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d???n???e???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n
• Hyphenation: gen?er?a?tion

Noun

generation (countable and uncountable, plural generations)

1. The act of creating something or bringing something into being; production, creation. [from 14th c.]
   • 1832, Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, II:

     The generation of peat, when not completely under water, is confined to moist situations.

2. The act of creating a living creature or organism; procreation. [from 14th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.10:

     So all things else, that nourish vitall blood, / Soone as with fury thou doest them inspire, / In generation seek to quench their inward fire.

   • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum:

     Generation by Copulation (certainly) extendeth not to Plants.
3. (now US, dialectal) Race, family; breed. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, First Folio 1623, I.3:

     Thy Mothers of my generation: what's she, if I be a Dogge?

4. A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or degree in genealogy, the members of a family from the same parents, considered as a single unit. [from 14th c.]

   This is the book of the generations of Adam - Genesis 5:1

   Ye shall remain there [in Babylon] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations - Baruch 6:3

   All generations and ages of the Christian church - Richard Hooker

5. (obsolete) Descendants, progeny; offspring. [15th-19th c.]
6. The average amount of time needed for children to grow up and have children of their own, generally considered to be a period of around thirty years, used as a measure of time. [from 17th c.]
7. A set stage in the development of computing or of a specific technology. [from 20th c.]
   • 2009, Paul Deital, Harvey Deital and Abbey Deital, iPhone for Programmers:

     The first-generation iPhone was released in June 2007 and was an instant blockbuster success.

8. (geometry) The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude, by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc.

   the generation of a line or curve

9. A group of people born in a specific range of years and whose members can relate culturally to one another.

   Generation X grew up in the eighties, whereas the generation known as the millennials grew up in the nineties.

10. A version of a form of pop culture which differs from later or earlier versions.

    People sometimes dispute which generation of Star Trek is best, including the original and The Next Generation.

11. (television) A copy of a recording made from an earlier copy and thus further degraded in quality.
    • 2014, K. G. Jackson, G. B. Townsend, TV & Video Engineer's Reference Book

      With one-inch C format or half-inch Betacam used in the component mode, quality loss through additional generations is not such a problem. In this situation, it would be usual to make the necessary alterations while re-recording onto a third generation master […]

    • 2002, Keith Jack, Vladimir Tsatsoulin, Dictionary of Video and Television Technology (page 131)

      Each generation away from the original or master produces increased degradation in the image quality.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

• first-generation
• generationer
• second-generation
• generation gap
• generation loss

Related terms

• generate

Translations

Further reading

• generation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• generation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• "generation" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 140.

Anagrams

• renegation

Danish

Noun

generation c (singular definite generationen, plural indefinite generationer)

1. generation (organisms or devices born or designed at the same time)

Declension

Further reading

• “generation” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “generation” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin generatio.

Noun

generation f (plural generations)

1. generation (procreation; begetting)
2. generation (rank or degree in genealogy)

Swedish

Noun

generation c

1. a generation

Declension

Related terms

• generera
• generationsväxling
• ungdomsgeneration

References

• generation in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• generation in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)