child

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a young person of either sex

   The author writes books for children.

2. 2
   noun

   a human offspring of any age

   The family had one child.

3. 3
   noun

   an immature childish person

   They remained a child in practical matters as long as they lived.

4. 4
   noun

   a member of a clan or tribe

   the children of Israel

5. 5
   noun

   A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).

   Go easy on him: he is but a child.

6. 6
   noun

   One's direct descendant by birth, regardless of age; one's offspring; a son or daughter.

   My youngest child is forty-three this year.

7. 7
   noun

   A figurative offspring

   the children of Israel

8. 8
   noun

   An adult or adolescent with childish or stupid behaviors.

   My husband is such a child, going out with his sled everytime it snows.

Etymology

From Middle English child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Danish kuld (“brood, litter”), Swedish kull (“brood, litter”), Icelandic kelta, kjalta (“lap”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (kilþei, “womb”), Sanskrit जर्त (jarta), जर्तु (jártu, “vulva”).