Adjacent Words

Babe definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BABE, n. [L. pupus,a word of endearment; pupa, little girl; whence pupillus, pupilla, pupil.]
An infant; a young child of either sex.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk; "the baby began to cry again"; "she held the baby in her arms"; "it sounds simple, but when you have your own baby it is all so different" [syn: baby, babe, infant]
2: (slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women [syn: baby, babe, sister]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, probably of imitative origin Date: 14th century 1. a. infant, baby b. slang girl, woman c. slang a person and especially a young woman who is sexually attractive 2. a naive inexperienced person — used especially in the phrase babe in the woods

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 literary a baby. 2 an innocent or helpless person (babes and sucklings; babes in the wood). 3 US sl. a young woman (often as a form of address). Etymology: ME: imit. of child's ba, ba

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Babe Babe, n. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.] 1. An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. 2. A doll for children. --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(babes) 1. Some people use babe as an affectionate way of addressing someone they love. (AM INFORMAL) I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean it. = honey N-VOC [feelings] 2. Some men refer to an attractive young woman as a babe. This use could cause offence. (INFORMAL) N-COUNT 3. A babe is the same as a baby. (OLD-FASHIONED) ...newborn babes. N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

used of children generally (Matt. 11:25; 21:16; Luke 10:21; Rom. 2:20). It is used also of those who are weak in Christian faith and knowledge (1 Cor. 3:1; Heb. 5:13; 1 Pet. 2:2). In Isa. 3:4 the word "babes" refers to a succession of weak and wicked princes who reigned over Judah from the death of Josiah downward to the destruction of Jerusalem.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bab:

(1) na`ar; pais of a male infant 3 months old (Ex 2:6) translated elsewhere "boy" or "lad."

(2) `olel, ta`alulim, in the general sense of "child" (Ps 8:2; 17:14; Isa 3:4).

(3) brephos an unborn or newborn child (King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) of Lu 1:41,44; 2:12,16; 1Pe 2:2 and the Revised Version (British and American) of Lu 18:15 [AV "infants"]; Ac 7:19 [King James Version, "young children"] and 2Ti 3:15 [King James Version, "child"]).

(4) nepios = (Latin infans) "a child that cannot speak." (King James and the Revised Version (British and American) of Mt 11:25; 21:16; Lu 10:21; Ro 2:20; 1Co 3:1; Heb 5:13) the same word is translated "child," plural "children" (in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) of 1Co 13:11; Ga 4:1,3; Eph 4:14) the verb nepiazete is translated in the King James Version "be ye children" and in the Revised Version (British and American) "be ye babes" (1Co 14:20). Nepios is used metaphorically of those who are like children, of simple and single minds, as opposed to the "wise and understanding" (Mt 11:25 = Lu 10:21; compare 1Co 14:20). "Babes in Christ" are men of little spiritual growth, carnal as opposed to spiritual (1Co 3:1; compare Heb 5:13; Eph 4:14). Nepios is also used of a child as a minor or infant in the eye of the law (Ga 4:1,3).

T. Rees

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Infant, baby, nursling, suckling, chit, brat, bantling (bairn), little one.

Moby Thesaurus

angel, baby, baby bunting, baby-doll, bambino, bantling, broad, buttercup, cherub, chick, chickabiddy, child, child of nature, colleen, cutie, dame, damoiselle, damsel, darling, dear, deary, demoiselle, doll, dove, duck, duckling, dupe, filly, frail, gal, girl, girlie, heifer, hick, hon, honey, honey bunch, honey child, hoyden, incubator baby, infant, ingenue, innocent, jeune fille, jill, junior miss, lamb, lambkin, lass, lassie, little angel, little darling, little missy, lout, love, lover, mademoiselle, maid, maiden, mere child, mewling infant, miss, missy, neonate, newborn, newborn babe, noble savage, nursling, nymphet, oaf, papoose, pet, petkins, piece, precious, precious heart, preemie, premature baby, preschooler, puling infant, romp, rube, schoolgirl, schoolmaid, schoolmiss, simple soul, skirt, slip, snookums, subdeb, subdebutante, subteen, subteener, suckling, sugar, sweet, sweetheart, sweetie, sweetkins, sweets, teenybopper, toddler, tomato, tomboy, unsophisticate, virgin, weanling, wench, yearling, yokel, young creature, young thing