Pregnancy

How to spell pregnancy

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce pregnancy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pregnancy mean?

1. nounThe condition or period during which a woman or female animal is carrying developing offspring in the womb.

Pregnancy in a sentence

• The clinic offers free vitamins throughout the pregnancy.

• Her pregnancy progressed without any complications.

Where does pregnancy come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin praegnans, meaning 'with child' or 'before birth', a compound built from prae 'before' and a root linked to the verb gnasci or nasci 'to be born'. That same birth root sits inside familiar words like 'native', 'nature', and 'innate', all of which carry the idea of being born or coming into being. Latin praegnans passed into English in the late 1500s, and the noun form 'pregnancy' was coined soon after to name the state or condition of carrying developing offspring. The adjective also developed a figurative sense, 'full of meaning' (as in a 'pregnant pause'), which preserves the original notion of being full or laden. The silent 'g' before the 'n', a trace of that ancient gnasci root, is the spelling detail writers most often overlook.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• gn- (from gnasci: to be born)
• -ancy (noun suffix denoting a state)