Talk:born
Vagueness in definition?
[edit]It seems to me that "born" has two very different senses depending on whether it is used in active or passive voice. The first one that comes to mind is illustrated in the phrase "I was born in August". The second is illustrated by "it has born fruit." I think it would be helpful to specify this difference, especially for the translations. (Some of the Romance translations seem to leave out this second case. I think Latin nasci and its derivatives only include being born, not bearing anything.) –Andyluciano 04:40, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
- The latter is usually spelt "borne". --Ptcamn 04:43, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
born and borne
[edit]I have been an avid reader most of my life.I have seen born used in the sense of 'being carried', many times, more times than the archaic appearing 'borne'. However, the consensus, in all the dictionaries I have looked at, is that the 'proper' past participle of 'bear', in the sense of supporting or carrying, is 'borne.' F. Scott Fitzgerald used 'born' to end The Great Gatsby with that famous still-copywrited line about boats and being 'born' backward in time.
Does anyone else have literary references to the usage of 'born/borne'?
+ To me it seems more subtle than that. "A child was born" vs. "she has borne me a child" (with the e). I don't quite see the rule. 86.131.93.66 19:55, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Um, Guise...
[edit]Sense two of etymology one is NOT a verb. 161.130.243.212 10:10, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
adjective: brought forth by birth.
[edit](adjective) brought forth by birth: I was born on October 27 https://oed.com/oed2/00025380 --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:24, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
- CGEL reads,
Singulary situations "She asked me where I was / had been born", where "was" cannot be interpreted as a backshifted preterite: #"Where are you born? " In BrE the past participle "born" is restricted to short passives, "I was born in Boston and She'd borne three children", but not *"He was born by a Greek peasant" .
Fowler's reads,
"Born" is also used in figurative expressions such as "an indifference born of long familiarity". In all other meanings, the past participle of bear is "borne" ( I have borne with this too long; He was borne along by the wind ), and this form is used with reference to birth when the construction is active, or when it is passive followed by "by" (the mother). --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:10, 14 August 2021 (UTC)