great with child
1
9.9
- idiom
- Archaic
:
embarazada
- He often worried about his wife, who was great with child, as she prepared for the arrival of their first baby.
Examples
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The village was buzzing with news of her condition; she was great with child and due to deliver any day.
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As the festival approached, everyone could see that she was great with child and glowing with excitement.
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REVEREND COBBS: And she was great... great with child.
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"unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, "because he was of the house and lineage of David, "to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, "being great with child."
Synonyms
192
1.1
Pregnant and close to giving birth
26
6.0
Carrying a baby before birth
12
3.8
A woman who will have a baby soon
1
9.3
Carrying eggs or young inside the body, usually late in pregnancy
A woman who is pregnant and close to giving birth
How Pregnant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning ('pregnant') is partially recoverable from its parts: 'with child' can be interpreted as 'having a child (inside)', and 'great' here signals a large/advanced state, so a learner could plausibly infer 'advanced pregnancy'. However the construction is archaic and the adjective 'great' commonly means 'important' rather than physical largeness, so the specific senses and word order may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Great with child comes from an older use where great meant 'large' and with child meant carrying a baby. Picture a woman with a very big belly; that's why the phrase means 'pregnant'.