bairn

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /bɛrn/ UK /bɛən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a child (chiefly Scottish and northern English)

The wee bairn slept soundly in her mother's arms.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a child (chiefly scottish... child kid infant youngster babe

Opposites

adult

Word family

Forms bairnies

Derived forms bairnish

Related forms barn bear

Simplified etymology

Bairn, the Scottish and northern English word for a child, descends from Old English.

Etymology

From Old English bearn ('child'), from Proto-Germanic *barną, from the root of beran ('to bear, carry'); cognate with Scots and Old Norse barn.

bearn Old English *barną Proto-Germanic *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Register & Style

External links

# bairn

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bɛrn/
**IPA (UK):** /bɛən/

## Meanings
1. a child (chiefly Scottish and northern English)

## Examples
- The wee bairn slept soundly in her mother's arms.

## Synonyms
- child
- kid
- infant
- youngster
- babe

## Antonyms
- adult

## Derived Forms
- bairnish

## Related Forms
- barn
- bear

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bearn
- Root: *barną
- Root: *bʰer-

## Etymology
From Old English bearn ('child'), from Proto-Germanic *barną, from the root of beran ('to bear, carry'); cognate with Scots and Old Norse barn.

## AI Etymology
Bairn is from Old English bearn ('child'), from Proto-Germanic *barną, from the root of beran ('to bear, carry'); cognate with Scots and Old Norse barn. Important recorded forms include bearn (Old English), *barną (Proto-Germanic), and *bʰer- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers a child (chiefly Scottish and northern English). The wider family includes derived forms such as bairnish and related words such as barn and bear.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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