child
child
Pronunciation
/tʃaɪld/.
/tʃ/ - The "ch" sound, a voiceless post-alveolar affricate.
/aɪ/ - The "long i" diphthong, starting with an open front unrounded vowel and gliding towards a near-front near-unrounded vowel.
/l/ - The "l" sound, a voiced alveolar lateral approximant.
/d/ - The "d" sound, a voiced alveolar stop.
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: child (e.g., "The child is playing.")
Plural Noun: children (e.g., "The children are playing.")
Singular Possessive Noun: child's (e.g., "The child's toy is broken.")
Plural Possessive Noun: children's (e.g., "The children's toys are scattered.")
Adjectives (derived from "child"):
childish: (often disapproving) behaving in a silly or immature way (e.g., "His behavior was childish.")
childlike: (often approving or neutral) having qualities characteristic of a child, such as innocence or simplicity (e.g., "She has a childlike wonder about the world.")
childless: without children (e.g., "They remained a childless couple.")
Adverb (derived from "child"):
childishly: in a childish manner (e.g., "He acted childishly when he didn't get his way.")
Other Noun Forms:
childhood: the state or period of being a child (e.g., "She had a happy childhood.")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition: A human being who is not yet an adult, typically from birth until the onset of puberty or legal adulthood. This emphasizes the developmental stage and legal status.
Synonyms: infant, toddler, youngster, juvenile, minor, kid (informal)
Antonyms: adult, grown-up
Definition: A son or daughter of any age, in relation to their parent(s). This highlights the familial relationship regardless of age.
Synonyms: offspring, progeny (formal), descendant, son, daughter
Antonyms: parent, ancestor
Definition: (Figurative) A person profoundly influenced or characterized by a particular place, time, or circumstance. This refers to someone who is a product or outcome of something.
Synonyms: product, outcome, result, creation, offshoot
Antonyms: (Context-dependent, e.g., "originator," "predecessor" if the 'child' is a derivative)
Adjective
Childish: (Often negative connotation) Characterized by immaturity, silliness, or a lack of good judgment, typically inappropriate for an adult.
Definition: Exhibiting behavior, attitudes, or reasoning more appropriate for a young person than for a mature individual.
Synonyms: immature, infantile, puerile, silly, foolish, petulant
Antonyms: mature, adult, responsible, sensible, sophisticated
Childlike: (Often positive or neutral connotation) Possessing qualities commonly associated with a child, such as innocence, simplicity, wonder, or unpretentiousness.
Definition: Having or showing admirable qualities reminiscent of a child, such as purity of spirit, curiosity, or lack of guile.
Synonyms: innocent, naive, pure, simple, guileless, unworldly, fresh
Antonyms: cynical, jaded, worldly, sophisticated, artful
Childless: (Descriptive) Without any children of one's own.
Definition: Lacking biological or adopted offspring.
Synonyms: unparented (less common, but conveys the meaning)
Antonyms: parental, fertile, productive (in a reproductive sense)
Adverb
Childishly: In a manner that is immature, silly, or lacking in adult sense.
Definition: Behaving or speaking in a way that is characteristic of a child, often used to describe actions considered beneath an adult.
Synonyms: immaturely, infantily, sillily, foolishly, petulantly
Antonyms: maturely, responsibly, sensibly, sophisticatedly
Examples of Use
Books:
"All children, except one, grow up." (J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan) - This classic opening line immediately establishes the central theme of childhood and its fleeting nature.
"Every adult was once a child, but few remember it." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince) - This quote from a beloved philosophical novella highlights the connection between childhood and adulthood.
"And what does a child know of the world?" (Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird) - This rhetorical question emphasizes the limited perspective of a young protagonist.
Newspapers:
"The government announced new initiatives to ensure every child has access to quality education, focusing on early childhood development programs." (The Daily Nation, Kenya, June 20, 2025) - This shows the word's use in policy and social issues.
"Police are appealing for information after a child went missing from a local park on Saturday." (The Standard, Kenya, June 23, 2025) - A common use in news reporting on public safety.
"A child's drawing, full of bright colors and imaginative creatures, was chosen as the winning entry in the national art competition." (The New York Times, Online Edition, May 15, 2025) - Illustrates the singular possessive and a positive association.
Online Publications:
"The article explores the psychological impact of screen time on a child's developing brain." (Psychology Today, online article, April 10, 2025) - Used in a scientific/educational context.
"Parenting experts advise fostering a child's independence from a young age to build resilience." (Parents.com, blog post, March 28, 2025) - Common in advice columns and lifestyle articles.
"Why every adult should embrace their inner childlike wonder." (Forbes.com, opinion piece, February 1, 2025) - Demonstrates the use of the adjective "childlike."
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: "The Sixth Sense" famously features the line, "I see dead people," spoken by a child protagonist. (M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense, 1999) - A core element of character definition.
Television Series: "Stranger Things" revolves around a group of children who encounter supernatural phenomena. (Duffer Brothers, Netflix, 2016-present) - The plural "children" is central to the plot.
Music: "They teach you to be a good child, but not to be a good human." (From the song "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" by Pink Floyd, The Wall, 1979) - Used to critique societal norms and education.
Podcasts: "This episode delves into the challenges of raising a child with special needs, sharing personal stories from parents." (NPR's "Life Kit" podcast, May 5, 2025 episode) - Used in discussions on family and social topics.
Video Games: Many games feature child characters, for example, Clementine in Telltale's The Walking Dead series, who grows from a dependent child to a capable survivor. (Telltale Games, 2012) - The journey of a child character.
General Public Discourse:
"Think of the children!" (Common plea/exclamation in discussions about policies or actions that might negatively affect younger generations, often used rhetorically) - A ubiquitous phrase.
"She's a child of the internet age, always connected." (Colloquial use, referring to someone who grew up with widespread internet access) - Figurative use of "child of."
"My dream is to see every child in this country have the opportunity to pursue their passions." (Statement by a political candidate at a rally, June 2025) - Used in aspirational and civic contexts.
"He's being quite childish about losing the game." (Everyday conversation, describing immature behavior) - Informal use of the adjective "childish."
"The children's section of the library is being renovated." (Public announcement/sign in a library) - Practical, everyday application of the plural possessive.
10 Famous Quotes Using Child
"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man." (Rabindranath Tagore)
"The child is father of the man." (William Wordsworth, My Heart Leaps Up)
"Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded." (Jess Lair)
"We are all children of the universe." (Carl Sagan)
"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer." (Unknown/Traditional Proverb)
"There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies." (Winston Churchill)
"Only a child knows what he is looking for." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince)
"Man is a child of his environment." (African Proverb)
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (Often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, though the exact phrasing varies) - Metaphorical use of 'child' in the sense of 'nurturing' or 'creating' change.
"Teach your children well." (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "Teach Your Children")
Etymology
The word "child" has a very old and interesting history! It comes from a long line of words that go all the way back to what linguists call "Proto-Indo-European," which is like the ancient grandparent language of many European and Indian languages.
Here's the breakdown:
The Deep Roots: The earliest ancestor of "child" seems to be a Proto-Indo-European word that meant something like "womb" or "fetus." This tells us that the very first idea connected to this word was about being inside the mother, or a newly formed life.
Proto-Germanic Connection: From there, it moved into Proto-Germanic (the ancestor of English, German, Danish, Swedish, etc.) as a word that meant "womb" or "fetus," but also started to mean "newborn" or "infant." This indicates a shift from just the developing life to the life that has just entered the world.
Old English "ċild": When we get to Old English (the language spoken in England before the Norman Conquest in 1066), the word was "ċild." At this point, its primary meaning was "fetus, infant, unborn or newly born person." It still carried that sense of being very young and just born. Interestingly, in late Old English, "ċild" could also refer to a "youth of gentle birth," like a young nobleman.
First Known Use and Meaning: So, the first known use of "child" (as "ċild") in Old English clearly meant an unborn or newly born human being, a fetus, or an infant. It was very much tied to the very early stages of life.
Developing Meanings: Over time, the meaning of "child" expanded. In the Middle English period, it also started to refer to "one's own offspring" regardless of their age (like saying "my child" even if they're an adult). The broader sense of a "young person before puberty" also developed in later Old English and Middle English. The fact that "children" is a "double plural" (meaning the "en" ending was added to an already plural form "cildru") shows how the language adapted to make the plural clearer over time.
So, in simple terms, "child" began its journey referring to the earliest form of human life – the fetus and newborn – and then gradually grew to encompass all young people and even one's adult offspring in relation to their parents.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Child
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "child" and its variations:
Child's play: Something very easy to do.
Child's eye view: A perspective seen from the innocent or simple viewpoint of a child.
To throw the baby out with the bathwater: (Idiom using synonym "baby") To discard something valuable along with something unwanted.
To be no child of mine: To disown or strongly disapprove of someone's actions, implying they couldn't be related to you.
A child of nature: Someone who loves and is closely connected to the natural world.
A child of destiny/fate: Someone whose life seems guided by a predetermined path.
A child of the sixties/seventies/etc.: Someone whose personality, beliefs, or experiences were heavily shaped by a particular decade.
Every child counts: Emphasizing the importance and value of each individual child.
To mind one's p's and q's: (Idiom with a historical connection to teaching children their letters) To be careful about one's manners or behavior.
Like a kid in a candy store: (Idiom using synonym "kid") Extremely excited and overwhelmed by choices.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of child from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
