lying-in
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.67 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The final stages of pregnancy; accouchement.
noun
A period of postpartum confinement, typically a month or longer, formerly common in Europe and still practiced in some parts of the world.
noun
The process of childbirth and the immediate postpartum recovery period of rest and confinement in bed.
adj
of, or relating to childbirth
adj
of, or relating to postpartum confinement
Example Sentences
- "from our first knowing each other, which was soon after my lying-in, we were almost inseparable companions […]"
- "One of them went to the pail, and finding no water in it, cried out to the others, what must they do to christen the child? On which they replied it should be done in beer. With that the seeming parson took the child in his arms, and performed the ceremony of baptism, dipping his head into a great tub of strong beer, which the woman had brewed the day before to be ready for her lying-in."
- "As she lay by the birth-fire, she gazed on the face of the child asleep in the bamboo cradle […] Once free from the lying-in, Linchong set herself to bringing up the baby."
- "'[…] as soon as she recovered from her lying-in, for I found her near her delivery […]'"