breeding en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈbɹiːdɪŋ/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English breedyng, bredynge (“gestation, incubation, propagation, hatching; engineering, formation, development, growth”), equivalent to breed + -ing.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) Propagation of offspring through sexual reproduction.
Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true.
2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 222:In analysing the ecological conditions of an animal population we have above all to focus our attention upon the most sensitive stages within the life cycle of the animal, that is, the period of breeding and larval development.
1950, Gunnar Thorson, “Reproductive and Larval Ecology of Marine Bottom Invertebrates”, in Biological Reviews, volume 25, number 1, pages 1–45:
- (countable, uncountable) The act of insemination by natural or artificial means.
- (countable, uncountable) The act of copulation in animals.
- (countable, uncountable) The good manners regarded as characteristic of the aristocracy and conferred by heredity.
-
(countable, uncountable) Nurture; education; formation of manners.
She had her breeding at my father's charge.
c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
-
(countable, uncountable) Descent; pedigree; extraction.
Honest gentlemen, I know not your breeding.
c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:Your dog has good breeding.
- (countable, qualifier:LGBTQ slang, uncountable) Ejaculation inside the rectum during bareback anal sex.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| breedings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
nonbreeding · breeding hips · inbreeding · unbreeding · postbreeding · xbreeding · selective breeding · breeding kink · dog breeding · breeding ground · antibreeding · cobreeding · line breeding · linebreeding · non-breeding · cross-breeding · outbreeding · stockbreeding · prebreeding
Translations (30)
fi lisääntyminen (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · ru разведе́ние (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · ru выра́щивание (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · fi paritteleminen (copulation of animals) · fi kasvatus (good manners as characteristic of the aristocracy) · ka გამრავლება (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · ml പ്രജനനം (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · es cópula (copulation of animals) · ru ко́итус (copulation of animals) · fi kasvatus (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · mi whakaaiaitanga (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · fr élevage (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · fr copulation (copulation of animals) · ru копуля́ция (copulation of animals) · ru осемене́ние (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · fr insémination (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · es preñada (ejaculation) · ru сноше́ние (copulation of animals) · ru разведе́ние (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · ru воспи́танность (good manners as characteristic of the aristocracy) · tl palabinhian (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · ru совокупле́ние (copulation of animals) · fi hedelmöittäminen (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · id pemuliaan (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · fi siittäminen (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · ka განაყოფიერება (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · mi rangatiratanga (good manners as characteristic of the aristocracy) · ru родосло́вная (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs) · ru размноже́ние (act of inseminating by natural or artificial means) · ms pembiakbakaan (process through which propagation, growth or development occurs)