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quiverfull

quiverfull

1 9.9
A person who belongs to a Christian group that welcomes many children and rejects birth control
  • noun
  • /ˈkwɪvərfəl/
: padre/madre quiverfull
  • Many families in the Quiverfull movement believe that having children is a divine blessing.

Examples

  • I disagree with the Duggars and other Quiverfull followers' reasons for having so many children.

    Blog text (6)
  • Many children of Quiverfull parents live in poverty and are crammed into homes suited to much smaller families (sleeping on metal shelving units, for example) and often eat highly restricted diets.

    Blog text (6)
  • She proudly identifies as a Quiverfull parent, embracing the lifestyle of raising a large family.

  • The Quiverfull community often shares resources to support parents with many children.

Surface Forms

quiverfull singular
quiverfulls plural

Morphology

quiverfull = quiver + full (semi-transparent) = quiver + full

The personal-denoting sense ('a quiverfull') is derived from the compound but refers to membership or support of the specialised movement, a meaning not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

A quiverfull is a person who follows that movement; the name comes from the Bible picture of a quiver 'case for arrows' being full of arrows, meaning many children. So a quiverfull person believes children are blessings and often avoids birth control.