Talk:baby
Babygro
I've not heard of Babygro before - is this spam/advertisement? I think it should be removed. --Stranger 23:35, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
It's a British product, but the word is used, like Hoover, for similar products. SemperBlotto 07:27, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification. --Stranger 14:55, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Another sense?
I think there's another slang sense for anything "cool", e.g. (of a car or bike) "This baby can do 0-60 mph in three seconds". Equinox ◑ 16:26, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
- Another example: "I rust-proofed those babies for you last week" (referring to a robotic character's buttocks in the Red Meat comic strip). Equinox ◑ 02:40, 19 July 2009 (UTC)
- It's more like a sense of possession or affection or something. I think most men use it just like they use it when talking to their wife/girlfriend. OjdvQ9fNJWl (talk) 18:37, 13 April 2012 (UTC)
At the risk of controversy...
In actual common usage of the word, "baby" as a noun can refer to an unborn human fetus. Example sentences: "When is your baby due?" "The baby is kicking." Since this is a distinct sense of the word and incredibly common in normal conversation, I will add it. However, I will not be surprised if someone removes it because of political motivations, so I am leaving my rationale here: A dictionary should not be concerned with political debate, but with the actual usage of a word. (For reference, this definition is included by dictionary.com and Collins English Dictionary (World English Dictionary), but omitted from Merriam-Webster.) Blendenzo (talk) 18:57, 20 November 2013 (UTC)
- Word usage has led us to accepting "literally" as "used for emphasis or to express strong feeling while not being literally true." BUT that is generally marked in a dictionary as "INFORMAL"
- At what point do we accept incorrect usage?
- Is this site to be used to display words as we want them to mean ? Or as they are to be correctly used? Should the common usage appear on this page WITH THE MARKING OF "INFORMAL"? 98.100.11.86 18:50, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
babies' clothes and equipment: clothes and equipment for babies Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. Reservados todos los derechos.
--Backinstadiums (talk) 11:26, 5 May 2020 (UTC)
RFD discussion: October 2020–January 2021
- Regarding the use of "baby" as an adjective, see also the RFD on talk Talk:baby dyke.
The following information has failed Wiktionary's deletion process (permalink).
It should not be re-entered without careful consideration.
Adj senses:
- Of a child: very young; of the age when he or she would be termed a baby or infant.
- a baby boy
- Of an animal: young.
- a baby elephant
- Intended for babies.
- baby clothes
- (of vegetables, etc.) Picked when small and immature (as in baby corn, baby potatoes).
RFD at least #3, which is clearly an attributive noun. Others may be open to debate. Mihia (talk) 01:09, 26 October 2020 (UTC)
- Delete all but #4. Imetsia (talk) 15:27, 26 October 2020 (UTC)
- While we're at it, I may as well RFD the usage note too: "When referring to a human baby (as per noun sense 1 above) the usual practice is to treat 'human' as the adjective and 'baby' as the noun." Does anyone think this adds any value? Mihia (talk) 21:06, 26 October 2020 (UTC)
- Just noting for reference on this issue, while it is in my mind, the occasional occurrence of "babier" and "babiest". Mihia (talk) 23:13, 18 November 2020 (UTC)
- Delete per Mihia and Imetsia; I think the usage note is interesting but poorly phrased, the usage example "a baby boy" directly contradicts the current phrasing. Either rephrase or delete that. The potentially diverergent stress pattern when modifying names for animals is interesting (I think "baby elephant", "baby shark", "baby woodpecker" can all take primary stress on the word for the animal), however, and that is adjective-like and may be worth mentioning somewhere.
←₰-→Lingo Bingo Dingo (talk) 11:01, 17 December 2020 (UTC) - Senses 1–3 RFD-deleted. I also removed the usage note. —Μετάknowledgediscuss/deeds 22:54, 1 January 2021 (UTC)