| 释义 |
babyn.adj. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: babe n., -y suffix6. Etymology: < babe n. + -y suffix6. With the β. forms compare discussion at babe n. The word shows considerable semantic overlap with babe n.The English word was borrowed into many other European languages; compare e.g. French baby (1704 in sense ‘small child’, 1793 as a term of endearment, 1898 in sense ‘doll’), Italian baby (1877), Dutch baby (1875), German Baby (second half of the 19th cent.), Danish baby (late 19th cent.). Compare also French bébé (c1755 as a term of endearment, 1858 in sense ‘small child’, 1885 in sense ‘doll’), which has often been considered a loan < English, but perhaps (in spite of its late attestation) shows a parallel formation < the (reduplicated) syllable /be/, characteristic of early infantile vocalization. A. n. 1. the world > people > person > baby or infant > [noun] c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. l. 95 With penaunce and passioun of þat babi. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xx. l. 92 (MED) Be-leyue leelly vpon that litel baby. c1475 (Harl. 5086) (2002) i. 2 Yee Babees in housholde that done duelle. 1526 in J. B. Paul (1903) V. 301 Ane el crammessy satyne to be [the] bawby Jhesus of the Senyis [= Sciennes] ane coit. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy (1822) v. 438 We bere na armoure aganis babbyis. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 7 You'le kisse me hard, and speake to me, as if I were a Baby still. View more context for this quotation a1635 T. Randolph (1638) 40 Me thinks already I espy The cradles rock, the babies cry, And drousy Nurses Lullaby. 1710 D. Manley I. ii. 131 The Emperor is no more minded than a Baby in Leading-strings. 1796 15 Hush-a-by baby On the tree top, When the wind blows The cradle will rock. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in 11 Lightly rocking baby's cradle. 1864 C. Dickens (1865) I. i. i. 3 The very fire that warmed you when you were a babby. 1882 J. Hyslop 124 Yer ill-steerin' brither Wad sae crump his ain croon the wee babbie tae please. 1920 D. H. Lawrence xii. 300 But already the middle of September was here, and the baby had not arrived. 1944 A. Seton i. 4 She unbuttoned her bodice, snatched up the hungry baby, and settled on the low nursing chair. 2004 J. Emsley (2006) ii. 46 Women with babies produce breast milk, which is a complete food in itself. the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > offspring or young 1659 E. Gayton x. 23 Sow's unfed will their dead babies eat. 1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais xvi. 70 They could swallow down more foul Language that came from us, than ten Sows and their Babies could swill Hogwash. 1769 M. Herberts (new ed.) 73 Who can describe the Chevalier's Fright, the Sow's resentment, and the Uproar among her Babies? ?1790 J. Whitley 25 You would hardly know Sammy from one of the Sow's Babies. 1877 ‘F. Bluebell’ 26 Is there not sorrow in the nest of a poor partridge when a kestrel has pounced down and carried away one of its fluffy babies? 1883 G. Allen in 18 Aug. 97/2 While he [sc. the young hare] is still a baby. 1947 I. L. Idriess xxxiii. 220 Of animals that carried their babies in pouches. 1961 G. Durrell ii. 55 Once the parent bird reached the edge of the colony it had run the gauntlet of several thousand youngsters before it reached its own nest-burrow and babies. 2003 Oct. 13/2 We tracked down the nest of the Australian Platypus and managed to bore a tiny hole..to observe her and her two-day old baby. the world > people > person > junior person > [noun] 1797 J. Smith Let. 25 Mar. in T. W. Tone (2009) III. 39 I hope you nurse your poor dear Mama, for my sake, for I love her even more than I love you, Miss Baby.] 1854 E. H. Otis v. 62 There were too many good things attached to the position of ‘baby of the family’ to be readily renounced. 1897 ‘P. Warung’ 243 Blake was twenty-five, Clyde was twenty-four, and Entworth forty-one... Short was the ‘baby’. 1914 19 Sept. 5/1 The ‘babies’ of the Southern League, Croydon Common, will face Crystal Palace. 1914 20 Nov. 5/4 [He] was only eighteen years of age, and was known as ‘the baby’ of his company. 1925 W. Deeping xxiv. §2 There was one young Pentreath,—the baby. 1982 E. Garonzik 21 Don't forget I'm still the baby in the family. 1992 13 Apr. 2/8 From baby of the House, as he was then, to Speaker of the House would be quite an odyssey. the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > inventive or creative faculty > [noun] > creative design or product 1890 48 65/1 Count Chardonnet..was then shewing his new-born baby, which he called soie artificielle. 1906 Mar. 7294/1 I reckon I had better take you to see Jennings. The glass business is his baby. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ xii. 297 The Assegai, it seemed, was going to be my baby. 1973 16 Apr. 21/2 We'll give him all the help we can but it's his baby. 1989 Nov. 16 39/4 On your own tour you're probably at the gig quite early looking after things because it's all your own baby. 2005 P. D. James Prol. i. 5 You'd better carry on. It's more your baby than ours. the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] > childish 1539 T. Elyot Introd. sig. A4v Ye babies, how longe wil ye delyte in your childyshnes? And how longe wyl fooles couete those thynges, whiche shall hurt them? 1593 G. Harvey sig. C2 Neuer lend credit to the word of A Gentlewoman, if I make not old mother-Gunpowder of the newest of those ratling babyes. 1603 T. Dekker et al. sig. C My briske spangled babie wil come into a Stationers shop. 1618 N. Breton 19 So long in their horne booke that, doe what they can, they will smell of the Baby till they can not see to read. 1660 J. Milton 5 If we were aught els but sluggards or babies. 1747 S. Richardson II. ii. 13 Many of us are mere babies in matrimony: perverse fools, when too much indulged and humoured. 1788 I. xv. 163 Round these stood gazing in stupid admiration crouds of other old babies. 1835 ‘F. Grummett’ ii. 50 The sodgers have thrown all their duds into the heart of the tier, and be d—d to 'em, a set of know nothing babies. 1876 M. Mitchell xiii. 96 The native servants are such babies. 1944 E. Lavery ii. iii. 122 Prudence. I just want to go to bed. Inez. Don't be a baby. You want to be a Commando when you grow up don't you? 1984 S. M. Dodd (1989) 148 Big baby. Can't do anything right, you..wimp. 2000 T. Robbins 377 I was such a baby back then, such a child. I think about what a spank girl I was back then and it's like I want to hurl my breakfast or something. society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > doll > [noun] 1545 sig. av Babyes for chyldren the groce. iii. s iiii. d. 1563 (1844) Idolatry iii. 238 Puppets and babies for old fools in dotage. 1597 Table Valuation & Prices f. 2v, in at Babie Babies or puppettis for barnis. 1651 W. Lilly Charles I in 100 Whose Father sold Babies and such Pedlery ware in Cheap side. 1693 J. Dryden in tr. Persius ii. 28 (note) Those Baby-Toys were little Babies, or Poppets, as we call them. 1712 R. Steele No. 500. ⁋3 Little girls tutoring their Babies. 1721 A. Pope 3 Oct. (1956) II. 86 Sober over a Sampler, or gay over a joynted Baby. 1747 Inventory John Laurens Estate 12 Sept. in H. Laurens (1968) I. 377 27 doz. dres'd babies at 40/. 1828 M. M. Sherwood VI. xxvi. 10 My governess and the housekeeper..supposed I was amusing myself with my painted baby. 1897 iii. 22 Her doll's house..was a very homely affair compared to the luxurious palaces in which latter-day children keep their ‘babies’. 1910 E. Singleton 286 The little loiterers..are tempted to linger, enchanted by the rich display of hobby-horses, babies and Dutch toys, arranged in artful and gay confusion. 1989 Jan. 22/2 I bought a baby for Korjeh. 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey 15/1 Bring yer babby wiyer then an yer'll 'a summats ter do while us is blabbin. the world > matter > light > reflection > [noun] > reproducing an image > image produced by > image of oneself in someone else's eye a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1591) 5 When thou sawest in Natures cabinet, Stella, thou straight lokest babies in her eyes. 1593 (1876) 39 That babie which lodges in womens eies. 1672 A. Marvell i. 66 Only to speculate his own Baby in their eyes. society > communication > book > illustration of books > [noun] > an illustration ?1600 Earl of Essex sig. A2 v To haue gone to trauell, when my country sent out so great an armie, had bin as much as to haue turned ouer bookes onely to gaze at the babies and pictures, whilst others were studying the sence. 1618 J. Hales Let. 26 Nov. 7 in (1659) Provided that in the Tables and Maps there were no pictures and babies. 1655 T. Fuller Hist. Univ. Cambr. ii. 24 in More pleased with babies in books than children are. 1877 E. Peacock Babbies, babies; also pictures. 1883 T. Lees 6 Boys at play, guessing whether there were an illustration on the next page, would say, ‘Babby o'er the leaf?’ 6. colloquial. the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun] the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun] > as form of address the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart > specifically a female sweetheart or girlfriend 1684 A. Behn 328 Philander, who is not able to support the thought that any thing should afflict his lovely Baby, takes care from hour to hour to satisfie her tender doubting heart. 1862 H. M. Naglee Let. 8 Jan. in (1867) 119 Dear, dear, dear Baby, how often, how incessantly I think of you. 1869 H. B. Stowe xiv. 147 Yes, Tina, I am glad,..but, baby, we can't stop to say so much, because we must walk fast and get way..off before daylight. 1889 B. Harte 9 ‘Lean on me, baby,’ he returned, passing his arm around her waist. 1918 C. Sandburg 60 My baby's going to have a new dress. 1928 7 Jan. 21/1 [Wife to her husband] ‘Sure, baby,’ she replied sympathetically. 1968 B. Dylan I'll be your Baby Tonight (song) in (1987) 264 Kick your shoes off, do not fear, Bring that bottle over here. I'll be your baby tonight. 1970 S. Sheldon (1971) ii. 16 She reached between his legs and stroked him, whispering, ‘Go, baby. Sock it to me.’ 2004 8 Mar. 31/3 Telephone your spouse and say, ‘I love you, baby!’ at odd hours of the day. 1835 J. K. Paulding (new ed.) xxxviii. 166 Well, my fine fellow, have you dished that rebellious rogue, my son Jonathan—hey baby? come, let's see what you have got; out with it my hearty! 1921 30 Dec. 4/1 ‘Hello, baby, what's new?’ said the 47th Street regular as he inhaled his morning Java. 1963 G. Steinem in May 92/3 Listen, baby, you think that was high, you should see some. 1968 N. Cruz & J. Buckingham ii. 28 I walked up behind the boy who was now sitting at his desk picking his fingernails... ‘Hey, look baby. I have something for you.’ 1994 J. Favreau (film script, 3rd draft) (O.E.D. Archive) 10 Mike is sleeping in the passenger seat. Trent. Wake up, baby... Look at it, baby. Vegas, baby! the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [noun] > attractive person > woman 1863 F. A. Kemble 30 ‘Oh massa!..where you get this lilly alablaster baby!’.. I looked round to see if she was speaking of my baby; but no..this superlative apostrophe was elicited by the fairness of my skin. 1897 G. Ade 107 If I eveh land 'at baby back on 'e resehvation I jus' got to have one of 'em wahm lettehs like you sent to Misteh Cliffo'd. 1927 H. A. Vachell 269 I'm beginning to think that baby is half vamp and half floosie. 1931 M. Hellinger xli. 203 Some guys are just born dumb. And it takes a baby like me to find out where the pickings are best. 1950 J. B. Allardice i. 43 You couldn't even rate a smile from the baby I'm seein'. 1994 J. Favreau (film script, 3rd draft) (O.E.D. Archive) 6 We got two parties tonight. One's for a modeling agency... There are going to be beautiful babies there. the world > people > person > [noun] 1880 S. Judy & D. Hammond in L. J. Davidson (1968) 25 There is Thomas O'Riley, who lives in Creede City,..For punishing booze, he can beat any baby. 1899 R. Whiteing xxix. 306 The bounders..think they're such awfully warm babies. 1919 R. Lardner 83 Well old pal it looks like they wouldn't be no front line trenchs for this baby. 1932 L. Berg xiv. 217 And I'm the baby that's going to see to that! 1953 ‘R. Gordon’ vi. 70 Some skippers cook the log, but not this baby. 1979 Fall–Winter 19 See, the men were tough babies. They took it and they got out of it. 1992 W. Mitchell ii. iv. 174 We're going to get these babies dead to rights in time... They'll have high-priced artwork clutched in their hot little hands. 1900 C. L. Cullen 29 It's a baby. It's a looloo. It's a cachuca. ?1934 J. Thurber (2002) 168 With me getting the sweet, soft, but really worth-while and interesting pieces to do (like this baby) we all might get some where. 1989 T. Clancy vii. 125 Whoever had designed this baby, Chavez decided as he brought it up for the first time, knew what shooting was all about. 2001 W. Ferguson xxxvii. 199 Our distributor down in Galveston went bankrupt..so we're practically giving these babies away. 7. the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small thing > thing small of its kind 1847 J. G. Francis 220 The measure of the Etnean field has never been taken; it probably comprises one third of this island. But Vesuvius, a mere baby in comparison, has vomited enormous masses. 1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve vii. 88 Turrets beside which the leaning tower of Pisa is a baby. 1913 E. B. Tweedie xix. 446 What a dear old town Annapolis is. One hundred years ago it was bigger than New York, to-day it is a baby in comparison. 1957 7 Aug. 91/2 The meteor swarm that missed Leningrad by a few hours was just a baby compared to what must have dropped over Arizona. 2005 (Nexis) 7 May 22 With its tiny population, this city [sc. Reykjavik] is a baby compared to most European capitals. society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > small-sized vessel 1853 7 123/2 A stone bottle of ardent spirits called baby for shortness and secresy. 1853 7 124/2 He has nabbed a ‘baby’! 1909 J. R. Ware 13 The half-bottle (2d.), which from its small size was dubbed ‘baby’ by all men. 1958 10 Jan. 40/3 Pubs refusing to serve standard-size bottles of mineral water because they only stock ‘babies’. 1972 295 Baby, small bottle, approx. 4-fl. oz. capacity. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > small or light 1920 27 Oct. 329/3 Triumph 1920 4 h.p. Model H, also Baby, both brand new. 1931 8 May 13/1 One of the ‘babies’ was setting up such a pace that the big cars were out of the hunt. 1976 Mar. 112 (headline) How does Chevy's baby stack up against the minis from abroad? 1992 Feb. 26/1 Fiat's new baby is more than a city putterer. It's safe, roomy, refined—and real fun to use. B. adj.the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] 1750 H. Walpole Let. 25 Feb. in (1960) XX. 126 All the geniuses of the age are employed in designing new plans for desserts. The Duke of Newcastle's last was a baby Vauxhall, illuminated with a million of little lamps. 1819 J. Keats 24 Jan. (1958) II. 36 My modest feathered Pen frizzles like baby roast beef. 1834 M. Boddington I. 132 It [sc. the Neckar] is a baby stream compared with the ‘abounding and exulting Rhine’. 1877 1 Dec. 602/2 Gas bags..floating high over their heads, by means of baby screws..and the like. 1878 16 Feb. 199/3 He was surprised at the strength displayed by the baby iron rope. 1908 M. Findlater & J. Findlater iv. 28 She led him out of the nursery... ‘There's a babier baby than Mike,’ she said. 1926 30 July 9/5 Imported films for use in ‘baby’ cine-cameras. 1956 19 Dec. 19/1 A device called the Accelerograph, something like a baby seismograph, is turning this art into a science. 1998 R. Gunesekera viii. 161 Ishrani would get furious... ‘You calling me fat now?’ He would say, ‘No, it is just that your car is a baby car. It is too small.’ Phrasesthe world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > see reflection in a1586 [see sense A. 4]. 1607 F. Beaumont iii. i. sig. E1 I cannot thinke, I shall become a coxcombe, To ha'my hare curl'd, by an idle finger,..Mine eyes lookt babies in. 1615 R. Brathwait 80 Or when none that's iealous spies, To looke babbies in his eyes. 1682 A. Behn iii. i. 33 Sigh'd, and lookt Babies in his gloating Eyes. 1737 E. Cooper v. iii. 101 You will serve well enough to look Babies in one's Eyes, say foolish Things, and play over a thousand Monkey Tricks. 1821 W. Scott I. vii. 122 What insignificance you have embraced—and all that you might look babies in the eyes of your fair wife oftener than once a fortnight. 1957 J. Braine xi. 107 I could see my face in her pupils, flushed, with my hair tousled. ‘You're looking babies,’ she said almost coyly. ‘If you look long enough, you'll see a baby’. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (intransitive)] > be wasteful 1840 C. C. Felton in tr. W. Menzel I. 174 Schüttet das Kind mit dem Bade aus; literally ‘empties out the baby with the bath’. 1853 T. Carlyle 29 The Germans say, ‘You must empty out the bathing-tub, but not the baby along with it.’] 1860 Feb. 129 The defect of the above article seems to us to be that, in the language of a homely German proverb, it throws out the baby with the bath. 1868 Dec. 472 You have emptied the baby out with the bath. 1896 J. Beveridge tr. L. N. Dahle Introd. 16 This, however, would really be to ‘throw the baby away with the bath-water’, abolish the use because of the abuse. 1909 G. B. Shaw in 28 Aug. 788/1 Like all reactionists, he usually empties the baby out with the bath. 1939 S. Spender tr. E. Toller ii. 84 You pour the baby out with the bath. 1957 E. Gowers 14 We can rid ourselves of those grammarians' fetishes which make it more difficult to be intelligible without throwing the baby away with the bath-water. 1967 Mar. 18/2 Most sportsmen agree that gun control is needed. But let us not ‘throw the baby out with the water’. 1979 2 June 17 As Whitehall starts to throw out its spenders, it matters that little-money babies do not vanish with the big-money bathwater. 2007 31 July (Home ed.) a6/1 Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater... We need all the resources that we can to fight this disease. society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be under responsibility [verb (intransitive)] > be left with a responsibility > unwelcome 1878 20 Dec. 7/2 There are a number of bill discounters..whose readiness to accept its paper without inquiry, in the confidence that some one else would be left ultimately to ‘hold the baby’, was one main cause of the bank's ruin. 1895 31 Aug. 607/2 In the meantime, who is going to fill the gap—who is going to hold the baby in connection with this guarantee? 1927 8 July 6 Disclaiming responsibility for all the financial misfortunes of the country, he found himself confronted by Mr. Jack Jones, who told him that he was ‘carrying the baby’ anyhow. 1935 D. L. Sayers vii. 153 Poor blighter. He always gets left with the baby. 1973 ‘H. Howard’ vii. 76 That sounded like I was being left to hold the baby. 1999 J. J. Connolly in T. White 158 What's Roy done here? He's left you holding the baby, got you and Tony to test the water first and now the shit's hit, he's well out of it. Compounds C1. Compounds of the noun. a. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. ii. 56 Commend these waters to those baby-eyes That neuer saw the giant-world enrag'd. View more context for this quotation 1788 II. 4 E'er yet upon her baby cheek, the conscious blush had learn'd to speak. 1797 R. Southey tr. J. de Montemayor Diana in 90 With all the baby playfulness of love. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in (new ed.) II. 101 Baby lips will laugh me down. 1862 W. C. Bennett 15 How thy baby fancy lingers, Wondering minutes, o'er thy fingers. 1957 H. Miller 99 It'll probably look like baby shit, but who cares? 1991 27 May 13/1 An exhibition of such relics as a lock of his baby hair. 2004 K. Long (2005) xii. 304 I noticed Mum had got baby sick all down the back of her sleeve. (b) the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [noun] > types of forehead a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 104 Weares vpon his Baby-brow, the round And top of Soueraignty. View more context for this quotation 1777 W. Combe 7 A Plume is the ornament which waves over the baby brow of Infancy. 1837 M. W. Shelley I. iv. 75 A half smile on her lips, contrasted with the seriousness of her baby brow. 1986 H. Dunmore (1991) 132 You, in your pearly maroon waterproof suit, with your round baby brows, stare upward. 1876 31 Mar. 2/1 Persons interested in children..can consider a case recently tried in England, in which baby-care was the subject under investigation. 1908 E. M. Bunting et al. 67 The various societies interested in health subjects have published many charters on hygiene and first aid, but on baby care there was scarcely anything. 1992 Nov. 39 (advt.) Preventive care services like baby care, immunizations, physicals, and Ob-gyn visits. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun] > types of 1763 36 What is this That rises like the issue of a Scot, And carries in his baby hand a cake Of Barley meal? 1895 Apr. 750/2 Dash, dash, went the brush guided by the baby hand. 1994 Dec. 112/1 Geckos, nimble flesh-colored gelatin with incandescent green eyes and baby hands, come snooping at the windowsill. the mind > language > a language > dialect > [noun] > baby or infants' language 1741 Jan. 45/1 The child its piteous cry begins, The tender nurse, to still him, softly sings Composing lullabys; and fondly lisps Her baby language and imperfect words. 1892 C. M. Yonge xxvii. 181 That pretty precision of utterance that children sometimes acquire when baby language has not been foolishly fostered. 1998 Jan. 27/1 With the three of us, it can become almost abstract, we can almost talk in a kind of baby language. 1779 W. Preston iii. 45 Say, what is infamy? a shade, a name, A mere hobgoblin, baby minds to tame. 1785 W. Cowper v. 190 Infirm and baby minds. 1887 J. Poole 181 ‘Handsome is as handsome does’, our nurses used to tell us.., which fostered such vanity in our baby minds. 2009 (Nexis) 26 Apr. For a scientist, the baby mind can seem like an impenetrable black box. the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > name given to a child or baby 1851 No. 94. 26 He said ‘Miss Pryor’ out of respect, yet it hurt me—I had been ‘Cassia’ with him so many years. Perhaps he thought I was outgrowing my baby-name now. 1856 C. M. Yonge ii. v. 382 Baby-names never ought to go beyond home. 1999 C. B. Divakaruni ii. x. 241 His computer has gathered an inch of dust because he's too busy compiling lists of baby names, writing them out in Bangla and English. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > foot > [noun] > sole 1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in 60 Tender pink five-beaded baby-soles. 1888 29 23 Children instinctively at first take to all fours, and only gradually come to trust the tiny double pedestal of their baby soles. 2005 (Nexis) 1 May 47 And on the floor, spilled talcum—A drift which holds the prints of baby soles. Heels, like dusted scones, in a further room. b. 1801 H. Summersett III. 220 Had I gone thither only once a year, kneeled at a baby toy, and looked dejected, what had been said of me then? a1854 E. Grant (1988) I. v. 88 My box of baby clothing has never been empty..since I first began to dress my doll. 1870 Mar. 136/1 A common bottle, with a sponge of very fine grain for cork, makes a good baby-bottle, easily kept clean. 1916 26 July 7/1 (advt.) Baby Bath Tubs; heavy tin, finely enamelled. 1969 E. W. Emery 12 The other side [of the valise] she lined with oilcloth for the ‘wets’, and I don't mean baby diapers. 1977 C. McFadden (1978) xlv. 96/1 The want ads..no longer solicited secondhand..baby strollers. 2006 M. Hubert 69 A baby hat is such a perfect newborn gift that I couldn't resist including just one. (b) the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific people > for children > for a baby 1704 N. Blundell 7 July (1952) ii. 23 I opened a box of Babby Cloths which was sent to my Wife by my Lady Webb. 1798 J. Austen 27 Oct. (1995) 17 Dame Tilbury's daughter has lain-in—Shall I give her any of your Baby Cloathes? 1866 D. G. Rossetti 5 Jan. (1965) II. 586 Some women preparing the grave-clothes and baby-clothes at the same time. 1998 13 Jan. ii. 6/5 His ideas include ‘Baby Mops’—baby clothes lined with mops which allow infants to clean floors as they crawl. the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > device protecting babies or infants 1899 (U.S. Patent Office) 430 (table) Baby-harness. 1930 M. Mead 24 The child sits quietly [in the canoe]... There are no straps, no baby harnesses to detain him in his place. 2001 (Nexis) 4 Feb. 9 And with little Mia tucked up in a baby harness, 25-year-old Kate was a picture of maternal pride. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific people > for children > for a baby 1658 No. 443. 18 The Pope will send him to present Babes-Linnen and Coats consecrated, to the young prince in Spain.] 1771 25 July She performs clear-starching in the best manner;..Dresden and sprigged work raised, and baby linen pinched. 1814 J. Austen I. i. 6 Lady Bertram dispatched money and baby-linen . View more context for this quotation 1982 S. K. Penman (1984) i. iv. 48 She'd borne twelve children, seen five die swaddled in baby linens. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific people > for children > for a baby 1709 J. Ozell tr. M. de Cervantes 105 The token of the Bosom, the Foot, the Baby-things, the Remarkable day of the Theft..all these things confirm'd Preciosa to be her Daughter. 1858 Queen Victoria Let. 17 Nov. in (1964) 146 I look at the baby things, and feel I shall not be, where every mother is. 1960 N. Hilliard iii. ix. 241 ‘You better not do that. They might put you in jail.’ ‘Nemmine. I get all the baby things, that's all I'm worried about.’ 2005 R. Horsfall xxx. 465 The two marital fugitives spent their days..shopping for baby things in the quaint villagey shops nearby. c. Appositive. (a) 1681 R. Howard 156 The King being returned safe into England with his Baby-Bride. 1703 170 A baby grandson of his own. 1826 W. Hone (1827) II. 1546 ‘Aunt Shakerly’..placed Mr. Hood's baby cousin in the nursing-chair. 1867 F. H. Ludlow 192 A simple little story had been told of a popular favorite's baby-grand-daughter, who had been given back from death in answer to agonizing prayer. 1904 Dec. 240 It happened on that day that the baby niece and baby nephew were decorated respectively with blue and pink ribbon. 1942 2 Mar. 62/3 (caption) She was..first called Ginger by a baby cousin who couldn't pronounce Virginia. 1977 May There's..an aircraft tycoon whose daughter and baby grandson are on the sunken craft. 2000 M. Herman 135 My baby niece is called Sheara. (ii) 1734 303 At length she yields to bless the Baby-Boy. ?1840 F. F. Cooper ii. iv. 26 I, a strong full grown man, tracked the footsteps of that baby boy. 2008 Feb. 6/3 On or about 22 November 2007 the stork arrived with a baby boy for Oren Ambarchi and his wife Naomi. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. ii. 190 Whereof I reckon The casting forth to Crowes, thy Baby-daughter, To be or none, or little. View more context for this quotation 1845 Aug. 111/2 Miss Merton..is very busy..in saving up a marriage portion for Mary's baby daughter. 2002 P. Collins 201 Irene had three sons, Sammy, Graham and Simon and a new baby daughter, Angela. the world > people > person > baby or infant > [noun] > baby girl 1758 iii. 19 I scoff at Mother's artful Wile, To lock me up in Garret vile, Such Bars your Baby Girls may hinder, I bounc'd triumphant through the Window. 1871 M. Collins I. i. 16 The Marchioness had a baby-girl. 2003 13 Apr. 18/4 Then there is the case of Sonia Hansda, who also gave birth to a baby girl up one of the village trees recently. 1800 M. Robinson 162 The brave, Saint Hubert, fled his Lordly home, And, with his baby Son, the mountain sought. 1907 7 496 Socrates' father goes out from his low-plastered house..and invites his neighbor to the nameday feast of his baby son. 2004 J. Wilson 9 Who wants gungy old stuff for their little baby son, eh? 1788 P. Thicknesse II. 258 In the following..I just received from his baby brother. 1809 Feb. 112/2 Lucilla..runs out of the room, because her baby sister tells that she reads Latin. 1850 Jan. 82/2 Darling, be a little woman now, and take the best of care of your little baby brother. 1908 Oct. 129 We can imagine a boy of eight being brought to the bedside of his mother, and shown a baby sister who had opened her eyes upon life two days previously. 1964 J. Troy i. 12 Belle. Oh, Pete, this is my baby sister, Mary... Mary. Oh this is my fiance, Keith Latimer. 2004 (Midwest ed.) 13 June xiii. 8 (advt.) Mom called it. My oldest brother became the fireman. My baby brother became the lawyer. Me? I'm the heart throb. 2005 ‘Noire’ xi. 102 The only thing that mattered to me was that in a few days my baby sister would be coming back to Harlem to live large with Hurricane and me. (c) 1819 1 Dec. 4/1 Goose, gander, gosling, turkey, duck, or fowl, Or from the sow purloin'd her baby-pig. 1862 20 8288 Mr. Buckland's communication on the birth of the six baby snakes is of great interest. 1894 R. Kipling 142 Summer gales and Killer Whales Are bad for baby seals. 1908 June 458 The baby kangaroo is a cunning mite, whose little face wears a humorous and inquiring, yet wistful expression. 1967 19 Aug. 428/1 Tanks containing baby alligators sold in a department store in St. John's. 1989 R. Whiting (1990) i. 14 The public..wanted to know his opinions on..the rising yen, the falling dollar, and the baby panda in the Ueno Zoo. 2004 M. Taylor 20 Baby gorillas are lively bundles of black fluff. They have round faces and wide eyes. (ii) the world > animals > birds > young bird > [noun] 1841 H. F. Gould III. 202 Five little baby birds were there, In that fond robin's nest. 1937 Apr. 124/2 There will soon be growing things all around us: baby birds in the old tree, brilliant hollyhocks by the back fence. 1998 B. Kingsolver (1999) ii. 114 After we handled and examined the pink-skinned baby birds, he popped one of them in his mouth like a jujube. the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Proboscidea (elephants) > [noun] > elephant > young 1815 July 172 Nothing could be more pitiable and more contemptible..than the forced entree of the poor baby elephant, thrust onward by fellows behind. 1864 14 May 626 The mind of a baby elephant. 2006 Dec. 181/2 Visit the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage near Kegalle. You get to wash the 'ickle baby elephants—too cute. 1863 B. W. Savile iv. 167 Girkin, which we all know to be a baby cucumber. 1896 J. MacNair Wright et al. 511 Radish pods, minute clusters of cauliflower, small string beans, baby onions, nasturtium seed—in fact, almost any small green vegetable. 1938 6 June 10/2 (caption) Spring chickens in a casserole with small white onions and baby carrots. 1985 Oct. 36/1 We have not yet wearied of boutique Napa Valley wineries,..nor the boom of baby vegetables. 1992 Sept. 76/3 Mesclun salad—a fresh mix of eight types of baby greens tossed in virgin olive oil. 2002 27 July (Guide Suppl.) 33/3 Cumin chicken..and puris with lentil and baby aubergine stood out as exceptional dishes. d. Objective. the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > other types of 1848 C. Kingsley i. i. 40 Worshippers of black cats, baby-eaters, and such like. 1952 2 Aug. 4/4 Communist propagandists said that Africans were savages and baby-eaters. 1999 (Lancaster Univ. Students' Union) 12 Feb. 4/3 I am definitely not a baby-eater. society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > seller of toys or trinkets 1634 T. Horn tr. J. A. Comenius 123 Baby-sellers [L. nugivendi] boast and speak proudly. 1895 Oct. 117 ‘My friend’, he said to the baby seller, ‘trade seems to be bad with you’. 1997 (Nexis) 26 Jan. 12 The world's biggest baby-seller arrives in Britain tomorrow to drum up lucrative business. And with him will be his star surrogate mum. society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of babies 1814 A. Ellys II. iii. vii. 190 It was a woman that first brought this childish worship (the great Hincmar of Rhemes calls it puparum cultum, baby worship) into the Church of Christ. 1894 M. Dyan II. x. 183 His youngest sister..had brought her boy with her, for ‘Uncle Dick’ to do a little final baby-worship. 2002 (Nexis) 11 Nov. 12 Office baby worship has reeled you in. You have no choice but to join the chorus of ‘aah’. e. Similative. the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > imperfect perception > [adjective] 1627 H. Burton 6 Filiall, or rather baby-blind obedience. the mind > emotion > calmness > meekness or mildness > [adjective] the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [adjective] a1845 T. Hood Lycus in (1858) 307 The leopard was..baby-mild in its feature. 1877 J. S. Blackie 268 In his foaming madness chain the mad Till he grew baby-mild. 1999 Daily Observer 19 Aug. in K. Hall & D. Benn (2000) viii. 69 Baby-mild form of West Indian history. f. Parasynthetic. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [adjective] > types of 1843 tr. Anacreon in 2 576 Charioteer'd by dolphins dancing, full of guile and baby-browed. 1850 E. B. Browning (new ed.) II. 174 Baby-browed And speechless Being. 1900 P. C. Johnson 76 Yet I, though heartily I love The world's acclaim, Would rather pack my grip and rove From marts of shame, And loiter calm and baby-browed, Far from the pomp and banners proud. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > types of face > [adjective] 1780 W. Cowper 201 Baby-featured, and of infant size. 1872 Dec. 379 There is nothing more contemptible, in my estimation, than an effeminate-voiced, baby-featured, meek-eyed pretty man. 1972 C. MacDonald 66 At six months he grew big as six years, though still Baby-featured, baby-limbed. g. the world > people > person > baby or infant > [noun] > babyhood or infancy a1617 P. Baynes (1634) (ii. 20) 357 It was the baby age of the Church, wherein men were carnall,..but in little measure spirituall. 1748 S. Richardson IV. ii. 14 She is of a baby age: She cannot be—a Solomon. 1798 R. Cumberland tr. Aristophanes 129 For beating me, who in your baby age, Caress'd you, dandled you on my knee, [etc.]. 1868 ‘F. Fern’ 40 Perhaps scarcely past the baby age, it may insist..upon being sung or rocked in the arms to sleep. 1997 (Nexis) 13 Dec. 32 I love kids at the baby age. 1895 18 Aug. 14/6 The newest electric household appliance, and in future no nursery will be complete without it, is the ‘baby alarm’. 1959 10 Aug. 11/2 Baby alarms can be fitted to relay sounds of distress. 2003 K. Cann x. 75 Come up here anytime you like... You can bring the baby alarm if Flossy's in bed. 1651 N. Stephens (title page) It is vindicated, as from the exceptions of the Separation, so in special from the cavils of Mr. Robert Everard in a late treatise of his intituled Baby-Baptisme routed. 1795 I. 543 The apostate church..has substituted baby baptism, man's invention, instead of the baptism of the Spirit. 1907 3 Oct. 633 How will they get along in ‘visible brotherhood’ with those ‘Bible Christian’ believers who hold that the Bible does not teach baby baptism at all. 2009 E. Ferguson 856 Arguments against the originality of baby baptism, in addition to its lack of early attestation, include: the essential nature ascribed to verbal confession. society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > basket > [noun] > for carrying > for carrying baby 1843 D. Griffin xv. 425 Here was the baby-basket, in which were the first clothes worn by James the First, when he was born. 1864 23/1 The proper baby-basket..should contain one entire set of clothes, half of the diapers, a linen and a flannel roller, two caps, a pincushion, a pot of pomatum [etc.]. 1884 Queen Victoria 168 The baby-basket sent her..when King James I. was born. 1902 G. W. James (ed. 2) App. 267 A number of baby baskets made and used by the Warm Springs Indians, Oregon. 1997 E. Wayland ix. 210 Ion's mother, Kreusa, describes the cloth she wove as a girl and left in his baby basket when she abandoned him at birth. 2006 S. Toliver 52 In a baby basket, be sure all bath products are very gentle and all sleepwear is flame-retardant. 1969 19 Oct. (Mag. section) 10/3 The baby batterers are, of course, a small tragic minority. 2009 (Nexis) 27 May 8 A baby batterer was released from prison yesterday just days after pleading guilty to attacking a sleeping toddler. 1963 1 Dec. 22/2 Many are talking about it, but nobody is sure what to do about it—brutal baby battering. 1984 Oct. 445/2 No-one knows..the full extent of the social cost of alcohol abuse (eg repeated petty crime, baby battering). 2003 L. Bryder vii. 194 The service aimed to prevent baby battering and enable parents of children with developmental disorders to make a realistic adjustment to them. the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [noun] > light blue 1861 G. Massey in 70 Our dove had eyes of baby blue, Meek as the Speedwell's by the way. 1889 Mar. 748/2 The small, square manuscript sewed at the back with worsted of the pale tint known as ‘baby-blue’. 1922 S. Lewis i. 4 Faded baby-blue pajamas. 1949 A. Wilson 29 Her corn-coloured hair and baby blue eyes. 2008 Spring 81/3 Beginning with a pale and delicate baby blue, this enchanted hue graduates with additions of green until it becomes downright turquoise or teal. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > non-British flowers > North American 1887 Aug. 152/1 Then, if we could have been there, we should have seen the..‘baby blue eyes’ (nemophila). 1902 E. M. Saxton 104 Then in this ‘unfenced garden’ were also the baby blue-eyes, whose pretty pale-blue blossoms come early in the spring. 2005 A. Olander & F. Olander 58 It's hard not to crush these baby blue-eyes, Nemophila menziesii, on this carpet of blue when hiking up Cahuilla Mountain. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > state allowance > family allowance 1909 25 Feb. 2/1 The Iowa legislature might take this up, as it is in line with the rattle-snake bill, the baby bonus legislation and Representative Miller's right on the doctors. 1912 15 July 11/8 Mr. Fisher's proposal to grant a baby bonus of £5 was of no value. 1945 D. Dumbrille xix. 191 The papers are full of the manpower situation.., conscription..[and] the Baby Bonus. 1976 16 Dec. 1/6 Extra tax on rich to be eliminated; baby bonus to rise. 2003 I. Ferguson xi. 173 He liked not working. He liked collecting a welfare cheque every month. He liked receiving the baby bonus. 1808 H. More II. 26 I make..the renouncing their baby books a kind of epocha, and by thus distinctly marking the period, they never think of returning back to them. 1874 26 Dec. 821/3 The French have what we may call baby-books in fair abundance, but of books for a girl or boy from ten to sixteen there is woful dearth. 1957 A. Thwaite 60 Still she cries and cries In rage, mindlessly. A trivial anguish, found In every baby-book. 1959 E. M. Borghese Twin's Wail in A. Pohl (1966) 74 Dad kept talking about him and mother, and there were pictures and the baby book. 1963 M. Abdullah & R. Mayhew in B. James 311 This is the baby-book. I am reading how to look after the baby. 1994 Oct. 37 (advt.) Our exclusive 40-page hardcover ‘Baby Book’ to capture the precious moments to come and cherish in the future. 1996 (Electronic ed.) 26 Apr. Cassie..became bored in reception class after being forced to read baby books. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > [noun] > baby-bouncer 1892 23 June 1/2 [The photographer] succeeded in snapping the windmills, the family dog, the coachman, Miss Ruth in her baby bouncer, and the Jersey calf. 1968 11 Mar. 11/2 I have him in the baby bouncer while I'm practising. 2006 Aug. 81/2 Thousands of children end up in hospital every year after falling from raised surfaces, especially when they've been put down in their car seat or baby bouncer. 1995 Re: Looking for Epidural Info/Stud. in misc.kids.pregnancy (Usenet newsgroup) 27 Nov. Any typos or other word errors are due in part to may being pregnant (baby brain). 2008 3 Feb. 21/4 Mothers-to-be have long complained about forgetting the simplest things as soon as they fall pregnant, jokingly blaming their ‘preg head’ or ‘baby brain’. 2016 (Nexis) 9 May I've got terrible baby brain. I've just had a baby a few months ago and I can't remember my own name, let alone anyone else's. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle pushed or pulled by person > [noun] > perambulator for child 1862 4 May 3/3 (advt.) Baby Buggies. All kinds and sizes, of our own manufacture, for sale. 1869 12 May The baby buggy is not more harmless than a bicycle, when its acquaintance is once made. 1911 30 Apr. 4/4 Your baby buggy..is on our fourth floor. 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood in (1936) 172 He..walked past the baby-buggy where young Horn had left his baby brother. 2002 2 Aug. 2/3 Often visitors have travelled a long distance on public transport..with small children and baby buggies in tow. 1980 V. Corbett & J. Wade vi. 44 Set out on the following pages are six positions generally recommended for making love with a baby bump between you. 1981 15 Aug. (Mag. section) 15/1 The ‘baby bump’ generation..is now at an age somewhere in the mid-20s. 1994 (Nexis) 10 Apr. 13 Ulrika is the latest celebrity to follow..Demi Moore's lead by showing off her baby bump in glossy magazines. 2008 22 Feb. 9/2 Just over half of parents questioned said they started reading books to their children when the child was six months old—while 18 per cent read stories to their baby bump. 2012 (Nexis) 23 Jan. As an auspicious time for birth, each dragon year sees a sizable baby bump. 2014 K. Bowman & L. Ryan (rev. ed.) 31 Place the lap part of the seat belt below your baby bump, across your hips. 1788 ‘Nurse Lovechild’ 21 Lulliby Baby Bunting, Your Father's gone a hunting, To catch a Rabit for a Skin, to wrap the Baby Bunting in. 1906 Oct. 27 (advt.) The Baby Bunting Blanket is a common-sense covering—Does not bind, or hamper the limbs—Cannot be kicked off.] 1909 4 Oct. 3/7 (advt.) Baby Buntings are babies' overcoats. They are closed across the bottom and part way up the side, allowing only enough opening to button baby in. 1926 151 Mothers will find this little Baby Bunting exceptionally pretty. 2000 L. Severson iii. 59 The best way to save money on baby buntings and snowsuits is to buy them at the end-of-year clearance sales. 1966 2 July 19/1 The great baby bust—that's the way to describe what's now happening to population growth in the U.S... Even though the actual number of marriages is up 17% from 1960, the number of births has dropped steadily. 1990 15 Jan. 25/1 The baby bust is a demographic certainty. Starting now in Japan, soon in Western Europe, and a little later in the U.S., the pool of new labor will begin shrinking. 2000 1 Jan. 5/4 We saw signs that the baby bust would soon abate. ‘Some experts’, we noted, ‘detect a slight rise in the birth rate in California’—which turned out to be the echo of the baby boom. 1983 18 Dec. e4/1 The demographers and most of the hucksters..have chosen to follow the Baby Boomers, tracking their progress and peddling them videocassette recorders. The Baby Busters have fallen behind. 1997 29 Dec. 17/1 The 18-to 29-year-old baby busters (so-called because there are relatively few of them, squeezed between the boomers and the boomers' children, the so-called echo boom, now aged 4 to 17). society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle pushed or pulled by person > [noun] > perambulator for child 1825 W. P. Dewees i. ii. xi. 227 Much advantage is oftentimes gained by the well regulated use of ‘the baby carriage’. 1887 9 July 9/5 (advt.) Baby carriages, handsome, strong, and cheap. 1903 3 Nov. 7 It gave a chance for a lot of jokes which were so distinctively British that a baby carriage was called a ‘perambulator’. 2007 (Nexis) 16 Dec. b2 J.Lo has reportedly also put a request for a double baby carriage on her baby shower registry. 1853 19 Mar. 50/1 Baby-carriers undertook to convey infants,..from distant ports of the country, at so much per head. 1872 E. Millett iv. 86 A little native girl..having been neatly dressed on her installation as baby-carrier to a colonist's wife. 1880 H. Behr The invention consists, principally, in constructing the baby-carrier, which has a convenient support for the child, with an additional and separate supporting plate or frame, whereby it can be held on the arm or lap of a nurse. 1925 A. L. Kroeber iv. 92 The cradle or baby carrier is a huge sort of slipper of openwork. 1965 15 June ii. 2/6 For sightseeing with an infant, you might try one of the canvas baby carriers which fit over your shoulder and under the baby. 1994 R. Braidotti ii. 65 If all uteruses are equal and interchangeable, all women are the same on the scale of their function as baby-carriers. 2005 Feb. 8/2 It may just be that your baby carrier doesn't distribute your baby's weight properly, causing you to develop back pain. society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > division of pupils > form or class 1860 (Amer. Tract Soc.) vi. 78 Ha, ha, ha! he's most thirteen, and only in the baby classes! 1873 C. M. Yonge I. ii. 24 That she might not..[go] down to the bottom of the baby-class. 1934 N. Marsh xii. 212 Baby-class stuff at the Yard. 1999 Mar. 24/3 I should like to give every Inspector a month's hard labour with the baby class. ?1576 sig. Fv Ile giue thee a peny to by thy baby clouts. 1640 R. Brathwait xv. 113 And drawing neare the bed, to put her Daughters armes and higher part of her body too within sheets: perceiving it not to be her Daughter: but a Baby-clouts only to delude her. 1725 H. Carey (single sheet) Now the venal Poet sings Baby Clouts and Baby Things, Baby Dolls, and Baby Houses. 1846 W. Cross xxii. 242 My whole frame became rigid, my legs and arms were extended, and I was covered all over with half-wet baby clouts. 1899 B. W. Green 47 Baby-clouts... Baby-clothes. Pieces of stuff of different colours given to children to dress their dolls with. 1996 C. I. Macafee 11/1 Baby-clouts, baby's nappies; in general baby clothes. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle pushed or pulled by person > [noun] > perambulator for child 1866 2 Nov. (advt.) 1 1-2 dozen Baby Cribs; 1-2 dozen Baby Coaches; Baby chairs, with and without Rockers. 1890 5 July 6/6 Then a brilliant thought struck the father. Why not buy a baby coach? 1903 1 Oct. 3 English baby coaches... The carriages are a distinctly English idea—they dub them ‘Perambulators’. 2007 (Nexis) 10 Aug. I saw young mothers pushing baby coaches and carrying loads of groceries. 1993 1 Dec. 35/5 Her ‘baby-daddy’—the father of her child—had been stabbed. 2003 A. Valdes-Rodriguez 55 They ask me to give shout outs to their baby daddies. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > other dances > [noun] 1744 ‘J. Love’ i. 7 Leave the dissolving Song, the baby Dance. 1893 M. G. Tuttiett iii. ii. 211 The little mistress danced too, the graceful baby-dance of nature's own teaching, until the wicket was reached. 1901 Nov. 429/2 A baby dance, by two mites, Miss Enid and Miss Brenda Deloitte, formed a novel and pretty feature at a musical afternoon. 1991 D. Baizley 36 I'm drunk! I'm a schoolboy! I'm a baby!..(Does a baby dance and sounds.) 2006 (Nexis) 22 Feb. 6 Just two weeks left to enrol in the first semester classes, including cheerleading, animation, drama, circus, dancing, baby dance and Capoeira classes. 1899 25 Jan. 2/3 There is what feeders call baby fat in calves. If they get that and retain it until they grow up they never seem to make good dairy cows. 1934 23 May 6/4 She says the weight was ‘baby fat’ and that she lost it without dieting. 1947 M. A. Jull xi. 382 Market them as soon as they are ready, or they lose their baby fat and the flesh begins to get hard. 1988 12 July 1 A mother most likely to hold onto ‘baby fat’ has lower-body obesity. 1991 C. Eddy 211/1 The drummer's fourteen and still has baby fat. 2004 (Nexis) 31 Aug. 25 [She] is fast shedding her baby fat after giving birth to daughter Apple in May. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > parent > father > [noun] 1932 27 June 18/3 I was returning from my baby father's house. 1972 Apr. 73/2 She got pregnant when she was seventeen and she and the baby father, dey are livin' together. Dey been together now 'bout two years, I think. 1998 11 Sept. (Friday Review section) 11/2 Among Britons of West Indian origin, a man refers to a woman as his babymother when she has borne his child out of wedlock. He is her babyfather. 2004 N. Turner xi. 104 She had the nerve to ask me, how you going to take care of your kids now since you and your baby father broke up. the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [noun] > reproducing on a smaller scale > that which is 1609 W. Shakespeare i. iii. 339 The baby figure of the gyant masse, Of things to come at large. View more context for this quotation 1799 148 This baby figure has lost also the bandage from her eyes? 1876 A. Shiels 22 Some eccentricities that were his own, Had into more than baby figures grown. 1949 28 May 96/1 (advt.) Adorable baby figure with coin opening in upraised foot. 2004 D. Davies (ed. 2) ix. 293 This little girl repeatedly played out a scenario in which a baby figure was burned up and then a mother and girl figure held each other close. the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > invalid or infants food 1832 Nov. 384 Let their curiosity be once excited, and they will not rest satisfied with the baby-food which the penny works afford them. 1851 18 Oct. 3/4 She asked me..to bring up some baby food... I took it up in a feeding bottle. 1939 4 Mar. 843/2 Libby's Homogenized Baby Foods are..suitable for use particularly during the early months of infancy. 1963 M. McCarthy xiv. 325 Girls today were..opening a tin of baby food, instead of..pressing beef in the ricer for beef juice. 2006 Aug. 109/1 You vowed..to never, ever let so much as a morsel of jarred baby food pass your little one's lips. 1837 Oct. 562/2 Baby germ of freshest hue, Out of ruin issuing new; Moss a long laborious growth, And one stalk supporting both. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Talking Oak xx, in (new ed.) II. 69 She gamboll'd on the greens, A baby-germ. 1883 Apr. 403 We wait without and call: Myriads we of creatures small,..Sheathed blades and folded wings, Baby germs in close-coiled rings. 1920 R. Van Saun 471 This mysterious, unseen, silent evolutionary process is going on within mother's body; the hidden baby-germ buried, that I might create a Precious new-life within my own body. 1911 14 June 2/3 The ‘baby gym’ class, of children of kindergarten age. 1936 Apr. 194/3 A baby gym or tower gym for practice in climbing. 1943 C. G. Garrison & E. D. Sheehy iv. 65 The ‘Baby Gym’..consists of a flight of three or four broad steps, with a railing on each side, leading to a small fenced-in platform. 1945 6 Apr. 4/8 (advt.) Baby Gym to exercise and entertain baby in crib. 1999 (Nexis) 10 May 25 You could fix a baby gym with different noises and textures across her cot. 2011 M. Stoppard 164 Find out if there is a baby-gym class in your area. society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > other toys > [noun] > doll's house the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > study or science of weather > meteorological instruments > [noun] > hygroscope > in form of toy cottage 1725 H. Carey (single sheet) Now the venal Poet sings Baby Clouts and Baby Things, Baby Dolls, and Baby Houses. 1750 H. Walpole II. 359 The Prince is building baby-houses at Kew. 1779 H. Mackenzie in No. 21. ⁋2 The little Dutch barometers, known by the name of Babyhouses. 1801 M. Edgeworth Good French Governess in V. 24 I see neither..dressed dolls, nor baby houses! 1992 N. N. Baxter viii. 166 The girls watched a while, murmuring among themselves about the differences between the baby house I was building and their own models. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > [noun] > baby-bouncer 1846 2 May A person in New Haven has invented and offered for sale an article called ‘the Gum Elastic Baby Jumper’. 1849 J. R. Planché in (1879) III. 290 Up and down leaping, My heart is keeping, like a baby jumper—that invention new. 1885 28 Dec. 5/4 Babies..sit in a long row in ‘baby jumpers’, with their attendant nurse-maids. 2000 J. Murphy (2005) vii. 109 Invest in a baby jumper device. It will teach your baby how to belly laugh. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > lace > other 1865 F. B. Palliser xxx. 362 The principal branch of the lace trade was the making of ‘baby lace’. 1893 C. A. S. di Brazzá i. 25 The baby lace, made in Bedford, Buckingham and Northampton, was a modification of the Lille lace. 1916 G. A. Chamberlain v. 45 Undies that puffed out just a little at her hips and drew in to a narrow band of openwork and baby lace at her knees. 2003 (Nexis) 22 Feb. e1 Little surprises are what makes the Morrow home a must-see. There is the handmade antique French baby lace Morrow found at a sale. 1970 1 May 26/8 Baby-led weaning, introduction of solid foods and family nutrition will be discussed. 2008 G. Rapley & T. Murkett i. 16 Baby-led weaning (BLW)..allows the baby to lead the whole process, using her instincts and abilities. She determines when weaning should start and finish. 2011 N. Duffy ii. 177 Combine the sauce with tiny pasta shapes for spoonfeeding. For baby-led weaning, cook larger pasta pieces that your baby can hold. 1948 Dec. 324/1 (advt.) Hundreds of uses with your radio—Inter-com! Public address! ‘Baby listening’ nurse! 1978 31 Mar. 14/7 (advt.) Radio intercom, baby listening in all 29 bedrooms. 1996 H. Marks (1998) vii. 178 The hotel provided a baby-listening service, and she was going to join me at the bar before we had dinner. 2006 (Nexis) 6 Apr. (Travel section) 28 There's a heated indoor pool, tennis, a kids' club, creche, an adventure playground and baby-listening. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > parent > mother > [noun] 1986 23 Mar. f3/2 A collection of wonderfully tuneful pop-reggae pieces ranging from the classic ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ to songs that promoted racial tolerance..and the dignity of women (‘Hush Baby Mama’). 1994 (Nexis) 1 Oct. He gon wid da baby mama an lef. 2004 June 87/3 Now I have two kids and two baby-mamas. the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > mother's milk > substitute for 1864 ‘W. Lancaster’ 100 Resume that might Which girdled round the world ere these had drawn Their baby milk, and crush them from the sky. 1908 D. R. Brown v. 41 Many dairies of the first class furnish special ‘baby milk’; that is, milk that is fresh, clean, uniform in character and quality. 1963 9 June 30/4 The greatest range of powdered baby milk are made..by Cow & Gate. 1986 13 Feb. 20/1 Mrs Ferguson wondered if she ought to give Alice cow's milk now, or whether babymilk is still suitable. 2006 D. Macqueen et al. 40 The company reputation is still tarnished for promoting powdered baby milk in poor countries. the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun] > one who looks after > child-minder or baby-sitter 1856 May 134/1 This minding the baby is in reality dawdling and..sitting down on door-steps and gossiping with other baby-minders. 1959 8 June 13/1 Resident nannies and baby-minders. 1996 W. Hutton (rev. ed.) viii. 224 They subcontract their parenting responsibilities to others; those few who can afford it hire nannies, those on lower incomes rely on baby-minders or their families. society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radio set > type of transmitter 1914 23 Feb. 8/5 You published my legitimate criticisms of Col. Lampton in the rôle of baby monitor. 1970 15 July 10/3 (headline) St. Elizabeth buys baby monitors with donations from residents. 1985 20 Nov. (Sears advt. section) 12/1 $5 off baby monitor. 2005 July 100/2 Baby monitors are fine at home, but with a range of 50m or so they're not much use when your hotel room is ten floors above the bar, or when you're out and about. 1979 S. Kitzinger v. 79 I believe that we should create a new institution, the babymoon, equivalent to a honeymoon, for both parents to start the relationship with their new baby. 1997 (Electronic ed.) 31 Jan. 6 This period is the Babymoon, when the parents enjoy a few days inside a bubble before contending with other, more familiar realities. 2004 7 July (Central ed.) d1/2 It's become a rite of passage: taking one more big vacation before the kid arrives. It even has a couple of names—the ‘babymoon’ or the ‘last hurrah’. 2016 C. Kornelis 166 My first problem with the babymoon idea is that it's kind of too late... Doesn't it make a little more sense to do it before your lady is pregnant? society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > parent > mother > [noun] 1966 11 Dec. (Mag.) 4/1 Two girls have three children for him. One baby-mother is in America and the other is in the country. 2001 Dec. 112/2 Jody..is 20 years old, lives at home with his mum.., doesn't have a job and his two babymothers Yvette..and Peanut..are always on his case. 1852 S. S. Cox iii. 36 The edges and inside of the rockers [of the cradle] are enriched with the insignia of royalty and emblems of repose. Have done quick with this royal baby nest! 1930 16 Oct. 2 (advt.) Baskets for all uses..egg baskets, baby nests or clothes baskets, handled feed baskets. 1978 8 Aug. 9/8 The Baby Nest is undoubtedly Granny bait, although not strictly necessary, it would be useful for the first few months, taking the place of shawls. 2003 J. Lindon (2006) vi. 182 It is also advised that babies should not have duvets or sleep in baby nests. the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the skin or complexion > [noun] > preparations for the skin or complexion > unguents or moisturizers 1930 17 Apr. 8/3 (advt.) Mennen's Baby Oil..49c. 1995 Spring 28/1 Smear a little baby oil on the infant's scalp in the evening. the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of pigs > [noun] 1941 47 338 (title) Acute hypoglycemia in newly born pigs (so-called baby pig disease). 1960 9 Feb. 102/1 Treatment of ‘Baby Pig Disease’... All the piglings in the affected litter should without delay be given glucose by mouth. 1983 21 June c8/1 Marshall County will be the site of an intensive effort over the next few years to see if pseudorabies, the lethal baby pig disease, can be eradicated. 2003 (Nexis) 23 Feb. f1 Most of the first pigs born died of a baby pig disease. 1628 H. Burton (Rev. xvi. 4) 57 Flesh and bloud, which at the ripest age hath not overgrowne the state of little children, being altogether affected with all such baby play, as their mother Babell hath invented for her children. 1788 27 Mar. 179/2 Many, perhaps, may say, Who do not much adore us, that ours is baby play, For Pope and Dryden writ before us. 1896 G. B. Shaw in 6 June 575/2 Mrs Campbell's attempt at Magda is the merest baby-play in comparison with that performance. 1999 Aug.–Sept. Rarely is an animal seriously hurt in this baby play, yet the pups display the characteristic body language and fighting techniques applied with serious consequences by adults. the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the skin or complexion > [noun] > preparations for the skin or complexion > powders 1853 J. E. Erskine 457 The former [sc. turmeric]..is used on young infants in the same manner as baby-powder is used on European children. 1897 No. 104. 32f Borated Talcum Baby Powder. 1937 Apr. 58/1 (advt.) Feel my Johnson's Baby Powder—isn't it lovely and downy and soft? Never gritty like some powders. It keeps a baby's skin just perfect! 2006 ‘L. Burana’ ii. 7 A clutch of bareback guys..dusted their latigos with baby powder. 1881 Mar. 581 Not every family has room and the means to construct a model nursery, but the poorest could spare a few square feet of space in some sunny corner, and, with old quilts and rugs, make it baby-proof enough for all probable emergencies. 1950 Sept. 166/1 To set his mind at ease, one parent installed a ‘baby proof’ lock on the door of the storage cabinet in which cleaning materials are kept. 2006 P. Stearns xi. 209 Safety devices multiplied, as part of this parental approach: not only bicycle helmets, but baby-proof bottle caps, electric socket protectors. 1921 Nov. 794/1 (heading) ‘Baby-proofing’ the door. 1966 9 Feb. 4/5 I found the best way to keep him out of trouble was..baby-proofing his room and letting him play in there with all of his toys. 2006 Aug. 157/1 A good travel cot will make breaks away more relaxing. They also mean you won't have to babyproof your hotel on arrival. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > ribbon > specific 1883 23 June (Suppl.) Some exquisite evening dresses..trimmed with a profusion of cream lace, and the very narrowest of narrow satin ‘baby’ ribbon. 1893 Feb. 175/1 Various ways in which skilful fingers can utilise the baby ribbons. 1957 27 Mar. 418/3 The Keystone ‘Baby Doll’ nightdress..is barely knee-length, and has a scooped neckline trimmed with angel lace and baby ribbon. 2007 3 Dec. 21 There are tidy regiments of satin baby ribbon, all cream or cerise—Conran's ‘signature’ yuletide colour. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > a public show or spectacle > type of show or spectacle > [noun] > other shows or spectacles 1854 2 Feb. A baby show has literally transpired... Six or eight babies were exhibited, dressed ‘up to the nines’. 1855 Nov. 160 The stupidest exhibitions lately heard of, are the Baby-show, now being got up in this country, in foolish imitation of the same foolish thing in America. 1930 ‘R. Crompton’ viii. 166 Oughter be in a baby show. 1990 R. S. Milne & D. K. Mauzy i. 11 Goh Chok Tong appropriately enough at a baby show asked if the policy should not be changed from ‘two is enough’ to ‘three is better’. 1902 10 Nov. 2/5 (advt.) Baby toilet articles and toys and many things suitable for gifts at the newly instituted ‘baby showers’. 1911 17 Apr. 1/2 The ladies of the Baptist church gave a surprise ‘baby shower’ in honor of..the new son of Mr. and Mrs. B. D. McMillen, at their home. 1952 2nd Ser. 106 732 The plaintiff, who was pregnant, attended a baby shower given for her at [the] defendant's restaurant. 2006 (Nexis) 22 Apr. b6 My sister-in-law does not have any sisters or close friends who will throw her a baby shower. 1925 H. J. O'Higgins & H. Ford ii. 42 Cooper's in the hole same as the rest of us. He wouldn't be baby-snatchin' neither if he hadn't been driven to it. A man's got to live. 1933 M. Allingham vii. 85 I meant the elder sister. You aren't baby-snatching, I hope, Wright? 2009 (Nexis) 20 Sept. A large part of the guilt that Walter carries around, is that he baby-snatched Peter as a young boy. the mind > emotion > love > love affair > [noun] > activity of a cradle-snatcher > one who cradle-snatches 1857 Jan.–June 221 It was clear to my conscience-stricken mind that I had unwittingly..aided in the foul schemes of the baby-snatchers. 1900 M. Hamilton v. 180 She was a large, handsome, not very youthful lady, married to such a young and callow subaltern that she went by the name of the ‘Baby-snatcher’. 1982 (Nexis) 21 Apr. Police have rounded up alleged baby snatchers who sold dozens of children to families in the United States. 2007 C. Coates 135 She didn't want all her friends and colleagues sniggering at the age difference, and thinking her dad a baby-snatcher. the mind > emotion > love > love affair > [noun] > activity of a cradle-snatcher 1857 Jan.–June 222 I avowed how I had been an unwilling accomplice in the scene of baby-snatching. 1905 26 440/2 It was a positive case of baby-snatching! Poor fellow!.. He has caught a tartar. 1939 ‘N. Blake’ iv. 71 This is a bit much, isn't it, darling?.. I don't approve of baby-snatching. 1996 R. Doyle xviii. 92 It's big business, baby snatching, especially in America. It's a sick world. 2002 A. Devlin 87 He was 21, ten years younger than me, and when we got engaged my father accused me of baby-snatching. 1985 25 Sept. 30/4 Equipped with..an inboard engine, hydraulic backstay, adjustable babystay and rod-rigging, the Diverse 30 displaces 5,100 pounds, 2,100 pounds of which is ballast in the lead keel. 2001 P. Keller 50 I found that, when we tacked, I had to go forward several times to ease the genoa around the babystay. the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > [noun] > a beginning or first step the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > [noun] > the first part or beginning > the earliest stage(s) 1825 M. M. Sherwood III. 226 You went tottering along with your baby steps! 1849 17 Aug. 131/1 What is despotism? It is the baby step of civilization. 1884 6 Mar. The late attempted revision by the last Congress was only a ‘baby step’ in the right direction. 1965 40 331/1 A change in accounting practice will be gradual, a baby-step that must be supported forcefully. 1994 J. Kelman 334 He got up off the bed and took four babysteps forwards. 2006 12 Jan. 11/2 For a long time, this country was..moving toward the right in baby steps. the mind > language > speech > [noun] > speech of a baby 1788 May 367/2 The silly language called baby-talk in which most people are initiated in infancy, often breaks out in discourse, at the age of forty. 1845 M. Fuller in 5 Feb. 1/1 To talk baby-talk, with malice prepense, and to give shallow accounts of deep things. 1861 M. B. Chesnut Diary 25 Nov. in C. V. Woodward (1981) x. 242 To me this calm, monotonous baby talk is maddening. 1933 E. A. Robertson x. 215 ‘Pore ole pussycat!’ Dru would lapse into baby-talk. 2008 S. Toltz i. 55 My mother tried to console her son..by infantilising him—..trying to snuggle him, speaking to him in baby talk. 1916 25 Apr. 7/5 The pleasures were followed by delicious refreshments served in the dining room, the table being adorned with blue baby tears, pansies and smilax. 1956 J. Stuart 100 They were picking the wild flowers that are so often called babytears here, though many call them bluets. 2008 D. J. Herda 128/1 Whenever we find a need for baby tears around the pond..we simply dig up a clump of them from elsewhere in the garden and transplant them. 1976 1 Feb. b3 (caption) This spring will focus on the fresh-looking woman in Carol Horn's wrap skirt and blue cotton baby-tee. 1994 (Nexis) 25 Jan. e7 Urban Outfitters..is expecting a delivery of sheer camo miniskirts, camo-print baby T's and used camouflage pants. 2004 T. N. Baker 54 I jumped up and threw on a pair of Gap jeans, a baby tee and a pair of Chanel shoes. 1845 A. W. Abbot iv. 22 A slender little girl of ten years old, performed the various offices of nurse, cook, and baby-tender. 1845 May 406 Some stove, button, baby-tender, or other of the most ingenious mysteries of inventive man. 1948 June 38/1 Dr. Skinner is the professor of psychology who is responsible for the invention of something known as ‘the mechanical baby tender’. 2007 S. B. Pomeroy i. 17 Of the great variety of slaves available from the Roman Empire, Greeks were considered the best baby-tenders. 1836 C. M. Sedgwick x. 88 Uncle Phil's skill in baby-tending proved also a great economy of the mother's time. 1919 22 Feb. 232/1 A baby is often said to be one person's work, but here, in addition to baby tending, one pair of hands has to wash and cook and mend and clean. 1997 (Nexis) 11 Jan. 45 Doing so may enable a person to carry on various home activities, such as baby-tending. the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > types or spec. teeth > [noun] > milk 1834 J. C. Hart ii. viii. 192 Her teeth—fine, large, white pegs of ivory, regular as a regiment at evening parade; and not any of your baby teeth, sir! 1853 T. Parker i. 11 My baby-teeth fall out, giving way to my man-teeth. 1920 (U.S. Public Health Service) 35 2776 The six-year molar comes in directly back of the last baby tooth. 2000 14 July 24/3 Our younger children's mouths get gappier as they shed their baby teeth. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > t-shirt 1948 19 July 7 (advt.) One pkg. of su-purb will wash 170 diapers—or 480 baby T-shirts. 1993 2 Nov. 64/2 Klein used more than 200 models..to show his tiny white ‘baby’ T-shirt that leaves a sliver of bare midriff. 2000 (Electronic ed.) 25 Nov. a1 Each new mother will be approached while in the hospital and given a gift basket with a baby T-shirt. 2006 (Nexis) 20 Sept. 24 The..crowd discreetly took in what..[she] was wearing: jeans and a white baby T-shirt emblazoned with a drawing. 1848 29 Jan. 147/4 This spoon feeds the babies, serves as a baby jumper, rocks the cradle, draws the baby wagon, plays with the poodles, takes paregoric, and washes out diapers. 1903 A. Adams xxii. 354 Well, at this church fair there was to be voted a prize of a nice baby wagon. 1994 (Nexis) 9 Aug. 18 Fans of the craze [sc. inline skating]..agree they shouldn't share the same concrete as moms with baby wagons and old people walking their skittish poodles. the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > device to assist child learning to walk 1851 12 July The instrument is termed a ‘baby walker’, an arrangement for directing the erring steps of the little one. 1967–8 7 Galt baby walker... Designed so as not to tip up when the baby, first learning to walk, pulls himself up on the handle. 2000 Apr. 108 (advt.) Avoid using a baby walker as your child could attempt to walk downstairs or reach hazards that he would not otherwise be able to get hold of. 1991 W. Sears vi. 29 Researchers have shown that continued mother-infant attachment, which is what baby-wearing provides, stimulates the infant to achieve quicker day-night regulation. 2010 (Nexis) 5 Jan. 35 There are more masculine styles of sling, such as a baby carrier—sometimes called a papoose—that relies on fastenings and clips. These have made baby-wearing more common among men. 1989 12 July a15/1 In the first months I was home from the hospital I lost 10 pounds after I lost my baby weight because I just had no time to eat. 1991 Self-images in alt.sex.bondage (Usenet newsgroup) 3 Oct. The first time I lost the ‘baby weight’ my breasts returned to the flat athletic breasts I had had before. 2010 N. Brauer & V. Brooks vii. 78 Her burgundy nursing dress was loose-fitting enough to..hide her baby weight. 1966 66 (front matter) (advt.) No telling how many uses you'll find for a Webril baby wipe. 1995 Aug. 34/3 (advt.) A few baby wipes for fingers and faces makes clean-up easy. 2008 M. Stasiak iv. 93 Another item that your baby's bottom will require more often than diaper rash ointment or cream will be baby wipes. h. Compounds with baby's or babies'. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > campions and catchflies > gypsophila 1866 E. S. Rand xv. 236 The flower-spikes look like little bunches of grapes... From their peculiar fragrance, the plant is often called ‘Baby's Breath’. 1897 C. A. Creevey viii. 272 Grape hyacinth. Baby's breath. Muscari botryoides. 1938 Dec. 4 Don't be deceived by trade names for plants that are the same old weeds, such as..baby's breath for flowering spurge. 2002 July 37 Candytuft, oreganoes, and white clouds of baby's breath..stitch themselves together into a quilt of summer color. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > meat puddings 1905 5 Sept. 4/7 ‘A baby's head and two veg.’.. The grubby waitress..brings steak pudding with potatoes and greens as trimmings. 1967 K. Giles v. 88 He went to the counter and ordered kidney soup and a baby's head and chips. 2007 (Nexis) 28 Jan. (Food Monthly Suppl.) 47 I'm partial to a steak and kidney pudding, too. In Bolton they call it a baby's head because it has a dip in it. 1928 9 Oct. 416/3 (advt.) Baby's Tears. Cineraria, Nana multiflora. 1930 17 Sept. 6/5 (advt.) For sale—giant asters, any shade. Gladiolas, tulip bulbs... Baby's tears for fern bowls. 1963 F. Perry (1972) 193/1 Mind your own business; Babies' tears. H. soleirolii. Prostrate growing plant with tiny green, golden or silver leaves. 1997 (Nexis) 23 July (Home section) 4/6 Ground-hugging plants such as thyme, sedum and baby's tears can dress up even the simplest path material. C2. Compounds of the adjective. 1878 18 July 57/1 Calves to be steered and sold as ‘baby beef’. 1909 12 Oct. 4/4 Baby beef, which is grown so little in this country. 1991 A. Sher (1992) xvii. 165 The caterers have done a fantastic spread, with crayfish thermidor, kingklip in cream and mushrooms, fillet of baby beef, you name it. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > pianoforte > types of piano 1879 21 Nov. Coming—Weber's Baby Grand. 1961 C. McCullers xiii. 249 Pounding on middle C of the baby grand piano. 2005 Feb. 31 My fondest memory of Moss is him playing on a baby grand at his house. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > stage lights 1910 W. Smith iv. 102 (stage direct.) Baby spot on each side in First Entrance. 1967 H. Harrison (1968) ix. 92 One of the grips brought out a baby spot and plugged it in for light. 1996 (Nexis) 19 Sept. The effect—achingly beautiful—was like a fistful of fat diamonds cast onto black velvet and illuminated with a baby spot. 1908 5 Jan. vi. 2/4 Its [sc. the light bridge] seven dirigible baby spot lights and especially constructed bunch lights make up an improved form of stage lighting. 1975 J. Russ 158 There are baby spotlights in the ceiling, which illuminate in deep chiaroscuro her gray hair. 2003 M. Odom ix. 83 A baby spotlight picked her out. She had become the center of the show. 1988 S. W. Hawking & R. Laflamme in B. 209 39 (title) Baby universes and the non-renormalizability of gravity. 1994 P. Davies x. 139 A baby universe might have completely different properties from its mother. 2006 M. Shermer iv. 58 Every time a star collapses into a black hole in our universe, the ‘other side’ of the black hole may yield a new baby universe. Derivatives 1625 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Noe ii, in tr. 51 Now, euer baby-like, we, ere we learne to sound The Latin Hebrew, Greeke, are going to the ground. 1763 II. 191 She dandles the baby, and baby-like sings. 1803 2 141 Baby-like caprice. 1858 T. P. Thompson I. xxx. 116 If a man sees his child gored to death..does he say baby-like, ‘O naughty oxen!’ 1993 June 22/2 A tiny furry creature is curled up inside the cage in a babylike slumber. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). babyv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: baby n. Etymology: < baby n. Compare earlier babyfy v. 1. the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)] > excessively 1744 E. Young 271 It babys us with endless Toys. 1865 A. D. Whitney xvii. 155 I should like to be made much of, and tended—yes, babied. 1897 R. Kipling x. 261 Mrs Cheyne simply cried and cried every step of the way, and said most extraordinary things to Mrs. Troop, who ‘babied’ her. 1942 E. B. White 20 Sept. (1976) 232 Our whole industrial life has, in a sense, been drafted, yet we still go on babying the unions. 1962 A. Lurie xii. 258 He disliked being babied by his wife. 2003 (Brit. ed.) Jan. 123/2 The kindly dealer babied me through the starts and stops of my first few miles. the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > treat gently 1873 (Univ. Michigan) 17 May 190/2 In canting the ball must be kicked, not babied. 1908 Dec. 394/1 It is as easy to cultivate a strong stomach..as it is to cultivate strong biceps. But our method should be the reverse of ‘babying’ it. 1947 Dec. 162/2 We've always babied the car and it continued to run well. 1994 Nov. 56/3 I baby it because it is all-metal construction. 2005 (Nexis) 22 May 1 c Look, go out there, stop babying your arm, you're not going to get hurt. the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care or protect [verb (intransitive)] > excessively 1913 G. Stratton-Porter xi. 340 I'll wager a strong young girl like the Princess will laugh at you for babying over her. 1915 Mar. 664 Well, I 'low you got somethin' besides your bees to baby over now. 2005 27 June 1 He'd try to pull a joke on someone almost every day—he didn't want people babying over him. Derivatives 1832 34 308 Are a nation of men to witness for ever the babying of these pampered nobles? 1919 Jan. 134/2 Sometimes she needs a little babying herself. 1992 Sept. 31/2 Young players like to take a rip at the ball,..with no babying of the swing. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). <  n.adj.c1400 v.1744 |
