Meanings
noungestation (countable and uncountable, plural gestations)
plural gestations
- countableuncountableThe period of time during which an animal or human offspring physically develops inside the mother's body until it is born.
- countableuncountableThe process of development of a plan or idea.
It was to a conversation with another friend who had for many years been familiar with all my writings during the period of their gestation, just as I had been with his.
1900, Sigmund Freud, translated by James Strachey, The Interpretation of Dreams: Avon Books, page 149
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
nounthe period during which an embryo develops (about 266 days in humans)
Similar
Broader
nounthe state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus
Broader
physical conditionphysiological statephysiological condition
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latingestāre
- Latingestātiō
- Englishgestation
Learned borrowing from Latin gestātiō.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque ernaldi
- ernaldiperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Bulgarian бре́менност
- бре́менност (brémennost)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Catalan gestació, gestació
- gestacióperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- gestacióprocess of development of a plan or idea
Czech březost, gravidita
- březostperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- graviditaperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Danish svangerskab, graviditet
- svangerskabperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- graviditetperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- drægtighedperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Dutch zwangerschapstijd, gestatie
- zwangerschapstijdperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- gestatieperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- drachttijdperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- draagtijdperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Esperanto gravedeco
- gravedecoperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Finnish raskausaika, kehittely
- raskausaikaperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- kehittelyprocess of development of a plan or idea
French gestation
- gestationperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
German Reifung, Heranreifen
- Reifungperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- Heranreifenperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Greek κυοφορία
- κυοφορία (kyoforía)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Hindi गर्भावस्था
- गर्भावस्था (garbhāvasthā)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Hungarian gesztáció
- gesztációperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Indonesian gestasi
- gestasiperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Italian gestazione
- gestazioneperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Norwegian Bokmål svangerskap, graviditet
- svangerskapperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- graviditetperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- drektighetperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Polish ciąża
- ciążaperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Portuguese gestação, gestação
- gestaçãoperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- gestaçãoprocess of development of a plan or idea
Romanian gestație
- gestațieperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Russian бере́менность, вына́шивание
- бере́менность (berémennostʹ)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- вына́шивание (vynášivanije)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- вына́шивание (vynášivanije)process of development of a plan or idea
- созрева́ние (sozrevánije)process of development of a plan or idea
Slovak brezivosť, gravidita
- brezivosťperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- graviditaperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- gestáciaperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Spanish gestación
- gestaciónperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Swedish dräktighet, graviditet
- dräktighetperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
- graviditetperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Ukrainian вагі́тність
- вагі́тність (vahítnistʹ)period of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Vietnamese thai kì
- thai kìperiod of time a fetus develops inside mother's body — see also pregnancy
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gestation
informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
gestation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gestation
MLA
“gestation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gestation. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gestation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gestation.
Source: gestation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.