different between instinct vs birth

English

Etymology

From Latin ?nstinctus, past participle of ?nstingu? (“to incite, to instigate”), from in (“in, on”) + stingu? (“to prick”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n.st??kt/

Noun

instinct (countable and uncountable, plural instincts)

1. A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

   Many animals fear fire by instinct.
2. An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

   an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct

   Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.

Derived terms

• instinctively
• instinctive

Translations

Adjective

instinct (comparative more instinct, superlative most instinct)

1. (archaic) Imbued, charged (with something).
   • 1838, Henry Brougham, Historical Sketches of Statesmen Who Flourished in the Time of George III

     a noble performance, instinct with sound principle

   • 1857, Charlotte Brontë, The Professor

     Her eyes, whose colour I had not at first known, so dim were they with repressed tears, so shadowed with ceaseless dejection, now, lit by a ray of the sunshine that cheered her heart, revealed irids of bright hazel – irids large and full, screened with long lashes; and pupils instinct with fire.

   • 1928, HP Lovecraft, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’:

     This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters.

Further reading

• instinct in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• instinct in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French instinct, from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?st??(k)t/
• Hyphenation: in?stinct
• Rhymes: -??kt

Noun

instinct n (plural instincten)

1. instinct (innate response, impulse or behaviour)

Derived terms

• instinctief
• instinctmatig
• moederinstinct
• vaderinstinct

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.t??/

Noun

instinct m (plural instincts)

1. instinct
2. gut feeling

Related terms

• instinctif

Further reading

• “instinct” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Romanian

Etymology

From French instinct

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in?stinkt/

Noun

instinct n (plural instincte)

1. instinct

Declension

Related terms

• instinctiv

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: bûth, IPA^(key): /b???/, verb also: IPA^(key): /b??ð/
• (US) enPR: bûrth, IPA^(key): /b??/, verb also: IPA^(key): /b?ð/
• Rhymes: -??(?)?
• Homophone: berth

Etymology 1

From Middle English birthe (1250), from earlier burthe, burde, from Old Norse burðr, byrd (Old Swedish byrth, Swedish börd), replacing Old English ?ebyrd (rare variant byrþ), equivalent to bear +? -th (compare also berth). The Old Norse is from Proto-Germanic *burdiz (compare Old Frisian berde, berd); Old English ?ebyrd is from prefixed *gaburþiz (compare Dutch geboorte, German Geburt), from Proto-Indo-European *b?r?tis (compare Latin fors (“luck”), Old Irish brith), from *b?er- (“to carry, bear”). More at bear.

Noun

birth (countable and uncountable, plural births)

1. (uncountable) The process of childbearing; the beginning of life.
2. (countable) An instance of childbirth.

3. (countable) A beginning or start; a point of origin.

4. (uncountable) The circumstances of one's background, ancestry, or upbringing.
5. That which is born.
6. Misspelling of berth.

Antonyms

• (beginning of life): death

Translations

Adjective

birth (not comparable)

1. A familial relationship established by childbirth.

   Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

Synonyms

• biological, blood, consanguineous

Etymology 2

From Middle English birthen, birðen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

birth (third-person singular simple present births, present participle birthing, simple past and past participle birthed)

1. (dated or regional) To bear or give birth to (a child).
2. (figuratively) To produce, give rise to.

Usage notes

• The term give birth (to) is much more common, especially in literal use.

Related terms

• bear
• born

Translations

Derived terms

References

Albanian

Etymology 1

From birë (“hole”).

Noun

birth m (indefinite plural birthe, definite singular birthi, definite plural birthat)

1. pimple, blemish

Related terms

• birë

Etymology 2

Diminutive -th lengthening of bir (“son”).

Noun

birth m (indefinite plural birthe, definite singular birthi, definite plural birthat)

1. son, little boy