English Lexicon

Vaginal delivery

/ˈvædʒ.ɪ.nəl dɪˈlɪv.ər.i/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #8500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The birth of a baby through the vagina, representing the standard physiological method of childbirth.

    "Her doctor confirmed that she was a good candidate for a straightforward vaginal delivery."
  2. 2

    A method of parturition involving spontaneous or assisted expulsive efforts through the birth canal.

    "The hospital reported a high percentage of successful uncomplicated vaginal deliveries last year."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term combines 'vaginal', derived from the Latin 'vagina' meaning sheath or scabbard (used anatomically since the 17th century), and 'delivery', originating from the Middle French 'delivrer' and Late Latin 'deliberare' meaning to set free or hand over. Together, the compound phrase emerged in medical terminology during the 20th century to distinguish natural birth from surgical interventions like Caesarean sections.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Vaginal delivery"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Vaginal delivery"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Vaginal delivery" Synonym Map