Etymology

baby

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Today it means: A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered. Full definition →

Middle English baby ← Old English *baba ← Proto-West Germanic *babō
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baby · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰā-
  2. Proto-Germanic*bō-redup.
  3. Proto-Germanic*babô
  4. Proto-West Germanic*babō
  5. Old English*baba
  6. Middle Englishbabe
  7. Middle Englishbaby
  8. English todaybaby

From Middle English baby, babie (“baby”), a diminutive form of babe (“babe, baby”), equivalent to babe + -y/-ie (“endearing and diminutive suffix”). Perhaps ultimately imitative of baby talk (compare babble).

Baby · proper noun2

  1. French · borrowed fromBaby
  2. Malayalam · borrowed fromബേബി
  3. English todayBaby

Two main origins: * Borrowed from Malayalam ബേബി (bēbi), a surname typically found in Kerala. * Borrowed from French Baby.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.