Bairn
/bɛːrn/noun
A child, especially in Scots and Northern English dialects.
Did you know?Bairn comes from a very old Germanic word for a child, and its close relatives survive in words like English-born, showing how language once tied childhood to lineage and being “born” into a world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰer-
“to bear, carry, bring forth”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*barną
“child; offspring”
Old English
OE
bearn
“child; son; offspring”
Old Norse
ON
barn
“child”
Middle Scots
Scots
bairn
“child, especially a young child”
Modern English
English
bairn
“a child, especially in Scots and Northern English usage”