child

A1 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled chillen

US /tʃaɪld/ UK /tʃaɪld/ See IPA manual

Freq #461

Meanings

1

noun
A young human being who is not yet an adult.

The author writes books for children.
2

noun
A person's son or daughter, at any age.

My youngest child turns forty-three this year.
3

noun
An adult who behaves in an immature, childish way.

My husband is such a child whenever it snows.

Word forms

The same word in different grammatical forms.

Noun

Singular: child
One child is playing outside.
Plural: children
Three children are playing outside.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a young human being who is... kid

2 noun · a person's son or daughter,... descendant son daughter

3 noun · an adult who behaves in an... baby

More bairnbitchlingboy brat chitcrotchlingfryfucklethybrid juvenile kiddie

Opposites

adult father grownup mother parent

Word family

Derived forms antichildbelchildbiochildbirthchildboychildbrainchildchesterchild-bearingchild-bedchild-birthchild-bridechild-centered

Related forms chieldchildechildermasorlingrelative sweetheart

Appears in

Phrases (13)

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young child
a child of an early age

Adjective + noun
children's book
a book written for and aimed at young readers

Adjective + noun
only child
a child who has no siblings

Adjective + noun
have a child
to become a parent; to give birth to or father a child

Verb + noun
adopt a child
to legally take responsibility for and bring up a child not born to you

Verb + noun
expect a child
to be pregnant; to be waiting to become a parent

Verb + noun

Proverbs (9)

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Tongue twisters (1)

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The Chimpanzee Champion
A cheap, changeable, child-like chimpanzee champion playing checkers with Charles.

The repeated ch starts use /tʃ/. Begin with short groups such as cheap, changeable and chimpanzee champion, then connect the whole sentence.

Simplified etymology

Child is an Old English word that in Anglo-Saxon usage frequently meant a newborn baby, a sense preserved in childbirth. In the 16th century it could sometimes specifically denote a female infant.

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”).

child Middle English ċild Old English *kilþ Proto-West Germanic *kelþaz Proto-Germanic *ǵelt- Proto-Indo-European *gel- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# child

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /tʃaɪld/
**IPA (UK):** /tʃaɪld/
**Frequency rank:** 461

## Meanings
1. A young human being who is not yet an adult.
2. A person's son or daughter, at any age.
3. An adult who behaves in an immature, childish way.

## Examples
- The author writes books for children.
- My youngest child turns forty-three this year.
- My husband is such a child whenever it snows.

## Synonyms
- bairn
- bitchling
- boy
- brat
- chit
- crotchling
- fry
- fucklet
- hybrid
- juvenile
- kid
- kiddie

## Antonyms
- adult
- father
- grownup
- mother
- parent

## Derived Forms
- antichild
- belchild
- biochild
- birthchild
- boychild
- brainchild
- chester
- child-bearing
- child-bed
- child-birth
- child-bride
- child-centered

## Related Forms
- chield
- childe
- childermas
- orling
- relative
- sweetheart

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: child
- Root: ċild
- Root: *kilþ
- Root: *kelþaz
- Root: *ǵelt-
- Root: *gel-

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
child is a noun. It is 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”). Historical forms in the chain include child (Middle English), ċild (Old English), *kilþ (Proto-West Germanic), *kelþaz (Proto-Germanic), *ǵelt- (Proto-Indo-European), and *gel- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include a young human being who is not yet an adult, a person's son or daughter, at any age, and an adult who behaves in an immature, childish way. Derived forms include antichild, belchild, biochild, birthchild, and boychild. Related words include chield, childe, childermas, and orling.

## Topics
- People & Society

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child

Meanings

Word forms

Noun

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (13)

Proverbs (9)

Tongue twisters (1)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

External links

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