wombchild

English

Alternative forms

• womb-child, womb child

Etymology

From womb +‎ child.

Noun

wombchild (plural wombchildren)

1. (poetic) A child still in the womb (i.e. a human embryo or fetus).
   • 2015, Ravens Station Steward, Ravens Station Steward:

     If ever there were retribution for shedding of innocent blood, who shall answer in the earth for this shedding of blood? That of the wombchild. Most innocent of blood.

   • 2016, Robert Bruce Newman, Calm Birth, page 173:

     Some words heard during the pregnancy, including words the mother is listening to carefully, again and again, can inspire a higher level of attention in the wombchild.

2. (poetic) A child of one's womb, as opposed to one who is adopted.
   • 1985, S. M. Stirling, Snowbrother, page 19:

     Her wombchild Taimi burst into the hall, gasping, his eyes glittering with the heedless excitement of his fifteen years.

   • 1996, Gardner Dozois, The Year's Best Science Fiction, page 473:

     My mother, Guyr Thade Tage em Ereb, was impatient, warm-hearted, and impartial, not exerting much control over us three wombchildren, but keeping watch. […] I treasured it for years and finally shared it with my own wombchild.