Suffix · forms adjectives
From Old English "boren" (born): forms adjectives of birth condition, origin or destiny. Firstborn, highborn, stillborn, freeborn, newborn.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
-born comes from the past participle of "to bear" (to give birth) in Old English and forms adjectives designating the condition, origin or circumstance of someone's birth. firstborn = the first to be born, the eldest child. newborn = recently born. highborn = of noble birth. lowborn = of humble birth. stillborn = born dead (literal) / failing before it starts (metaphor). freeborn = born free, not in slavery.
"highborn" = of high birth, from a noble or aristocratic family: "a highborn lady." Very common in Shakespeare, historical fiction and epic fantasy. "lowborn" = of low birth, of humble origin: "a lowborn youth who rose to power." The highborn/lowborn tension is one of the key dramatic engines of classical English literature (from Shakespeare to Dickens and Hardy). "wellborn" = of good family (an intermediate position between highborn and lowborn). "trueborn" = of legitimate birth: "The True-Born Englishman" (Daniel Defoe, 1701).
"stillborn" literally = born dead, without life at birth. In medicine: "a stillborn infant." In a metaphorical sense (very common in journalism and formal English): something that fails before it can begin, an idea or project that dies at birth: "The peace talks were stillborn from the start." "a stillborn initiative." "a stillborn democracy." This metaphorical use is C1-C2 and extremely frequent in political and economic journalism.
Adverb/adjective + born. Produces adjectives of birth condition.
"Born" can also be used in hyphenated compounds: foreign-born, American-born, London-born. These designate geographical origin. Without a hyphen (highborn, firstborn), they designate social condition or birth order.
-born/bɔːrn/ · rhymes with corn
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
"firstborn" = the eldest, simply the first to be born. It carries implications of inheritance in many cultures, not of affection. "the firstborn son." It does not mean the favourite.
"a stillborn peace process" = a peace process that never got off the ground. "a stillborn plan." This metaphorical use is very frequent in political and economic journalism.
Shakespeare uses both frequently. Hardy, Dickens and Austen explore the highborn/lowborn tension extensively. Also found in modern journalism when describing historical social mobility.
A trick to remember it
-born = birth condition, origin or circumstance. Key words: firstborn (eldest child), newborn, stillborn (born dead / failed at birth), highborn/lowborn (noble/humble birth). Powerful metaphor: "a stillborn plan."
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"A stillborn initiative" means...
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"Highborn" and "lowborn" appear frequently in...
The suffix -born from Old English "boren" (born): forms adjectives of birth condition, origin or destiny. Firstborn, highborn, stillborn, freeborn, newborn. In Spanish it usually maps to -nacido / de cuna.
The ending -born is pronounced /bɔːrn/ · rhymes with corn. For example, "firstborn".
"first" becomes "firstborn". It is a typical example of the -born suffix.
From Germanic "-hard" (persistently excessive): forms pejorative nouns for a person who takes a negative trait to excess. Drunkard, braggart, dullard, dotard, laggard.
Names a state, condition or domain: free becomes freedom.
From Old English "-ling": forms diminutives of young creatures, small beings or subordinate persons. Duckling, fledgling, sibling, underling, changeling.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.