born

1. 1
   baby's birthverb

   Past participle of bear, in the sense of being given birth to.

   The child was born two weeks early but perfectly healthy.

   She was born into a family of working musicians.

   UsageI was born (not incorrect: I born) in Paris, born into a family. A child is born, but a burden is borne.

2. 2
   natural talentadjective

   Having a certain quality or character from birth, or as if from birth; innate rather than acquired by learning.

   He is a born storyteller who can hold any room's attention.

   Their youngest daughter is a born musician, picking up instruments effortlessly.

   UsageComes before a noun naming a role: a born leader, a born storyteller.

   Similarnatural, instinctive

   Note

   It also builds compounds, as in Daniel Defoe's The True-Born Englishman (1701).

3. 3
   createdverbobsolete

   Past participle of bear in other senses. Obsolete: now written borne.

   In some monasteries the severity of the clausure is hard to be born.

   1784, Thomas Sheridan, Life of Dr. Swift

   If I had not persuaded Harriet into liking the man, I could have born any thing.

   1815, [Jane Austen], Emma

   Note

   Before the spelling split, this form also covered carrying and enduring. Jane Austen could still write "I could have born any thing" in Emma (1815). Michael Geddes's Miscellaneous Tracts calls a monastery's severity "hard to be born." Both mean endured, and both would now be spelled borne. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Born formerly served as the past participle of bear in senses including carrying and enduring. en.wiktionary.org
   • Austen wrote the quoted wording in Emma; the fictional thinker is Emma Woodhouse, and born means endured. tantor-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com
   • Emma was first published in 1815. jasna.org
   • Both quotations use born in the sense endured, for which borne is the modern spelling. en.wiktionary.org

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