See Also: only child(medicine)
child(dictionary)
child(2)(dictionary)
child(1)(dictionary)
Child(law)
Child(medicine)
Abuse, child(health)
child psychiatry(encyclopedia)
child labour(encyclopedia)
child development(encyclopedia)

child(2) (iou)



child noun. . See also CHIELD.

I.
A foetus; an infant; spec. (dial.) a female infant. OE.
Shakespeare Winter's Tale A very pretty barne. A boy or a child, I wonder?
A boy or girl. OE.
b. In biblical translations: a youth approaching or entering on manhood. LME.
sing. A youth of gentle birth. Chiefly as a title. arch. OE.
Byron Childe Harold.
transf. A person who has (or is considered to have) the character, manners, or attainments of a child, esp. a person of immature experience or judgement; a childish person. ME.
J. Conrad You are not fit for diplomatic work, you know, ma chere. You are a mere child at it.
A pupil at school. ME.
b. spec. A chorister. E16.
A lad in service; a page, an attendant, etc. LME-E17.
A man, a lad, a fellow. Cf. CHIELD. Long arch. rare. M16.
L. G. Gibbon Chris waved to the old, kind childe as he bicycled down Blawearie brae.
II. As correlative to parent.
A son or daughter (at any age) of (or with my etc.); an offspring of human parents. (Used chiefly, & longer, of a daughter.) OE.
b. A young animal. rare. L16.
In pl. Descendants; members of the tribe or clan. ME.
A disciple of a teacher; a follower or adherent of. Usu. in pl. ME.
fig. A product, derivative, extract, dependant, attachment, etc., of. ME.
Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet Dreams Which are the children of an idle brain. J. R. Green Elizabeth..was a child of the Italian Renascence.
Phrases: children of Israel = ISRAEL 1. from a child since childhood. poor child: see POOR adjective. quick with child: see QUICK adjective 4a. red children: see RED adjective. Sunday child, Sunday's child: see SUNDAY. the child unborn: a type of innocence, ignorance, etc. this child slang (orig. US Black English) I, me. with child arch. (a) pregnant; (b) fig. full of; eager, longing, to do.
Comb.: child abuse severe maltreatment of a child, esp. by beating or neglect or sexual assault; child allowance a sum of money paid out or allowed against tax for a dependent child; child-bearing giving birth to children; child benefit in the UK, a State monetary allowance for each child in a family (replacing family allowance); childbirth giving birth to a child (natural childbirth: see NATURAL adjective); child bride a bride who is still a child, a very young bride; childcare the care or oversight of a child or children, esp. by a creche or childminder in the temporary absence of a parent or guardian, or by a local authority when a normal home life is considered to be lacking; child guidance the supervision of the (esp. psychological) welfare of children and adolescents, the therapeutic treatment of maladjusted children and adolescents; child labour the (esp. inhumane or illegal) use of children in industry or business; Childline (a charitable organization running) a telephone helpline service offering help and advice to children experiencing problems, esp. physical or sexual abuse; childminder a person who takes care of a child or children, esp. in the temporary absence of a parent or guardian; spec. a person registered with the local authority to offer paid daytime care in his or her own home for children under the age of eight; childminding the oversight of a child or children in the temporary absence of a parent or guardian; spec. the work of a registered childminder; child-molestation sexual abuse of a child by an adult; child-molester a person guilty of child-molestation; child PORNOGRAPHY; childproof adjective that cannot be operated, opened, damaged, etc., by a child; child psychologist a specialist in child psychology; child psychology the systematic study of the psychology of children; children's hour (chiefly Hist.) an hour of recreation spent together by parents and their children in the evening; (Children's Hour), a BBC radio programme with this title, broadcast 1922-61; child-resistant adjective = childproof above; child's play (a) play befitting a child; (b) an easy task; Child Support Agency (in the UK and Australia) a government agency responsible for the assessment and collection of compulsory child maintenance payments from absent parents; child-wife a wife who is still a child, a very young wife; child-woman a person between childhood and womanhood; a woman who is still like a child.
childed adjective provided with a child or children E17.
childless adjective ME.
childlessness noun M19.
childlike adjective (a) belonging to or becoming a child; filial; (b) resembling (that of) a child; possessing the qualities of a child (usu. in a good sense, as opp.
childish): L16.
childlikeness noun childlike quality E19.
childly adjective (a) childish; (b) filial: OE.
childness noun (rare) (a) childish humour, childishness; (b) being a child: E17.
childship noun (now rare) the relationship of child to parent; filiation, adoption: M16.