Child \Child\ (ch[imac]ld), n.; pl. Children
(ch[i^]l"dr[e^]n). [AS. cild, pl. cildru; cf. Goth.
kil[thorn]ei womb, in-kil[thorn][=o] with child.]
1. A son or a daughter; a male or female descendant, in the
first degree; the immediate progeny of human parents; --
in law, legitimate offspring. Used also of animals and
plants.
2. A descendant, however remote; -- used esp. in the plural;
as, the children of Israel; the children of Edom.
3. One who, by character of practice, shows signs of
relationship to, or of the influence of, another; one
closely connected with a place, occupation, character,
etc.; as, a child of God; a child of the devil; a child of
disobedience; a child of toil; a child of the people.
4. A noble youth. See Childe. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.
5. A young person of either sex. esp. one between infancy and
youth; hence, one who exhibits the characteristics of a
very young person, as innocence, obedience, trustfulness,
limited understanding, etc.
When I was child. I spake as a child, I understood
as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became
1. Cor. xii.
11.
6. A female infant. [Obs.]
A boy or a child, I wonder? --Shak.
To be with child, to be pregnant.
Child's play, light work; a trifling contest.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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