noun / adjective / verb
baby
BAY-bee/ˈbeɪbi/
A very young child or animal.
The baby reaches for a soft ball while sitting on a parent's lap.
Etymology
Baby adds a diminutive ending to babe, which already meant an infant, reinforcing smallness rather than creating a new category. This diminutive largely displaced babe as the ordinary word for a very young child.
In context
It is a young mother for her baby. Mother for a young baby.
More examples
- 'Good night, baby,' she whispers to her husband.
- She adds baby carrots to the lunch boxes.
- He keeps babying the new car as if it might break at any moment.
Forms
baby · babies · babied · babying