What does childed mean?
"Childed" is the past tense and past participle of "child," an obsolete English verb meaning to give birth to or bring forth offspring. Where modern English uses "bore," "delivered," or simply "had" a child, earlier writers could say that a woman "childed" — as in a chronicle noting that she "childed a son that autumn." The verb derives from the Old English noun "cild" (child), which itself survives today in everyday use, and the verb form appears chiefly in older literature and genealogical writing. Because it sounds so close to the far more common "chided" (meaning scolded), readers encountering it in old texts should take care not to mistake one for the other. Today "childed" survives only as a literary curiosity, valued by historians and lovers of archaic diction for the glimpse it offers into how English speakers once described the act of bringing new life into the world.
verb (archaic)"Childed" is the rare past tense and past participle of the now-obsolete verb "child," meaning to give birth to or bring forth a child.
- (Archaic) Past tense and past participle of "child": to have given birth to or brought forth offspring.
"She had childed three sons before her thirtieth year."
"The chronicle records that she childed a daughter in the winter of that year."
"Having childed early and often, she spoke of motherhood with hard-won authority."
"Childed" once did the work of "gave birth to" — and its closest sound-alike, "chided," means the exact opposite of nurturing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of childed
The word comes from the Old English noun "cild," meaning child or infant, from which Middle English formed the verb "childen," meaning to bear a child. The verb fell out of ordinary use centuries ago, leaving only fossilized forms like "childed" in older texts. The root "cild" is of uncertain ultimate origin, though it has been connected to Germanic words relating to the womb and pregnancy, such as Gothic terms for fetus-bearing.
Related word forms
How childed is actually used
Extremely rare and archaic; found mainly in older literature and historical texts. Modern writers would say "bore" or "had borne" instead. Avoid confusing it with "chided."
Easily confused with childed
"Chided" means scolded or rebuked, while "childed" is an archaic form meaning gave birth to a child.