natality

na•tal•i•ty (ney-TAL-i-tee)  n

Definition:
the ratio of births to the general population; the birth rate


Origin:
late 15c., "birth," from natal, from late 14c., from L. natalis "pertaining to birth or origin," from natus, pp. of nasci "to be born" + -ity. Sense of "birth rate" is from 1884, from Fr. natalité

Related:
Synonyms: birthrate
Related Words: natal, neonate, nation, nature, native

Sentence Examples:
• Then the doctor went on to speak of the prolificness of wretchedness, the swarming of the lower classes. Was not the most hateful natality of all that which meant the endless increase of starvelings and social rebels? -Fruitfulness, Emile Zola

• The great southern peninsula is for the most part a highland steppe endowed with a singularly pure air and an uncontaminated soil. It breeds, consequently,a healthy population whose natality, compared to its death-rate, is unusually high; but since the peculiar conditions of its surface and climate preclude the development of its internal food-supply beyond a point long ago reached, the surplus population which rapidly accumulates within it is forced from time to time to seek its sustenance elsewhere. -The Ancient East, D. G. Hogarth

• If the mortality has any influence upon the natality this cannot be in the form of replacement of lost infants and deceased old people, therefore, as has frequently been suggested. That a high death-rate at the child-bearing age should be conducive to increased fertility is absurd, neither does it seem likely that a large number of children should make the parents more liable to diseases which are prevalent at this period of life.  -Birth Control, Halliday G. Sutherland

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

parturition

par•tu•ri•tion (pahr-too-RISH-uhn)  n

Definition:
the act or process of giving birth; childbirth

Origin:
1646; from L. parturitionem, noun of action from parturire "be in labor," desiderative of parere "to bear, bring forth, give birth to, produce," from PIE base *per- "to bring forth"

Related:
Synonyms: childbearing, delivery, labor, childbirth, birth
Related Words: from parere "to bring forth, bear": parturient, viviparous, oviparous, multiparous, transparent, pauper, parent, postpartum

Sentence Examples:
• Dreams of this sort are parturition dreams; their interpretation is accomplished by reversing the fact reported in the manifest dream content; thus, instead of "throwing one's self into the water," read "coming out of the water," that is, "being born." -Dream Psychology, Sigmund Freud

• [The death-god's] head ornament varies in the Dresden Codex; in the first portion of the manuscript, relating in part to pregnancy and child-birth, he wears on his head several times a figure occurring very frequently just in this part of the Dresden Codex and apparently representing a snail, which among the Aztecs is likewise a symbol of parturition. -Representation of Deities of the Maya Manuscripts, Paul Schellhas

• Any place into which women are received to be cared for before, during or after parturition shall be considered as a maternity hospital or home. -Rules and regulations governing maternity hospitals and homes, 1922, California State Board of Charities and Corrections

The Storyline
"Young lady, remember I'm your father," he retorted. But his role in her parturition was not sufficient to give him the upper hand again.

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

aborning

a•born•ing  (uh-bawr-ning)   \ə-ˈbȯr-niŋ\

Definition
adj
being born or produced
adv
while being born or produced

Related
Synonyms: nascent, budding, inceptive, inchoate, incipient
Related Words: aborn, born

Examples
• Before the mortar of his zeal has a chance to congeal, The cup is dashed from his lips, the flame is snuffed aborning.
• Whoever ruling a Principality cannot see an evil aborning is not truly wise — and this is given to few. Machiavelli

The Storyline
She opened the door, but whatever thought Kurt was trying to hatch died aborning and he stood vacant before her.

Origin
a- + English dial. borning, first used as adverb 1916, first used as adjective 1943

Sources: Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com

Why This Word:
I encountered aborning as a synonym for my first post incipient. I liked the fact that it described that specific moment of being produced, not birth, or having been born or in the process of forming, but during that moment of creation.

Word-E: A Word-A-Day