babe

(bāb)

1. A baby; an infant.

2. An innocent or naive person.

3. Slang A person considered to be sexually attractive.

4. Informal Sweetheart; dear. Used as a term of endearment.

[Middle English, perhaps imitative of the syllable "ba" frequent in infant babbling.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

babe

(beɪb)

1. a baby

2. informal a naive, gullible, or unsuspecting person (often in the phrase a babe in arms)

3. informal a young woman or man perceived as being sexually attractive

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

babe

(beɪb)

n.

1. a baby or small child.

2. an inexperienced or naive person.

3. Slang.

a. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a girl or woman.

b. (sometimes cap.) an affectionate or familiar term of address.

[1150–1200; Middle English; early Middle English baban, probably orig. a nursery word]

usage: Definition 4a is sometimes used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting or demeaning to women. Definition 4b is an affectionate term of address used by a man or woman to a sweetheart.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	babe - a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk; "the baby began to cry again"; "she held the baby in her arms"; "it sounds simple, but when you have your own baby it is all so different" baby, infant blue baby - an infant born with a bluish color; usually has a defective heart cherub - a sweet innocent baby child, kid - a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age; "they had three children"; "they were able to send their kids to college" abandoned infant, foundling - a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown godchild - an infant who is sponsored by an adult (the godparent) at baptism neonate, newborn, newborn baby, newborn infant - a baby from birth to four weeks nurseling, nursling, suckling - an infant considered in relation to its nurse papoose, pappoose - an American Indian infant test-tube baby - a baby conceived by fertilization that occurs outside the mother's body; the woman's ova are removed and mixed with sperm in a culture medium - if fertilization occurs the blastocyte is implanted in the woman's uterus war baby - conceived or born during war
	2.	babe - (slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women sister, baby jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo" fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman - a young woman; "a young lady of 18"

babe

noun

1. (Informal) darling, love, baby, dear, dearest, honey, sweetheart, sweetie (informal) I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean it.

2. (Informal) attractive young woman, siren, charmer, vamp (informal), femme fatale (French), temptress, Lorelei, seductress, Circe This is not a case of idle babe worship among howling teens.

3. baby, child, innocent, infant, bairn (Scot.), suckling, newborn child, babe in arms, nursling innocent as newborn babes

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

babe

noun

1. A very young child:

baby, bambino, infant, neonate, newborn, nursling.

Idiom: bundle of joy.

2. A guileless, unsophisticated person:

child, ingénue, innocent, naive.

Idiom: babe in the woods.

3. Slang. A person regarded as physically attractive:

beauty, belle (used of a woman), lovely, stunner.

Slang: doll, hunk (used of a man), knockout, looker, stud (used of a man).

Translations

طِفل رَضيع

nemluvně

babyspædbarn

kornabarn

kūdikis

bērniņšmazulis

baby spedbarn

nemluvňa

bebek

婴儿

babe

[beɪb]

A. N

1. (liter, o.f.) → criatura f

2. (esp US) → chica f; (in direct address) → nena f

B. CPD babe in arms N → niño/a m/f de pecho

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

babe

[ˈbeɪb] n

(mainly US) (= honey) (term of address) → ma poule

(= attractive woman) → canon m , super nana f
She's a real babe! → C'est un vrai canon!
the former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson → Pamela Anderson, la super nana qui jouait dans Baywatch beach babe

(old-fashioned) (= baby) → bébé m
newborn babes → les nouveaux-nésbabe-in-arms [ˌbeɪbɪnˈɑː^rmz] n → tout petit bébé m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

babe

(liter) → Kindlein nt (liter); babe in arms (esp Brit) → Säugling m

(esp US inf) → Baby nt (inf), → Puppe f (inf); hey Susie/Mike babe! → he du, Susie!/Mike!

(inf: = girl) → Schnalle f (sl), → Tussi f (sl), → Braut f (sl) ? also baby e

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

babe

[beɪb] n (old) → bimbo/a, bebè m inv (esp Am) (fam) (endearment) → piccolo/a, tesoro
babe in arms → bimbo/a in fasce (fig) → ingenuo/a

babe

(beib) noun

1. a baby. a babe in arms (= a small baby not yet able to walk).

2. see baby.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The babe threw back his head and roared at his prospects.

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You come to murder the babe that shall be born of me."

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"BABE, not baby," corrected Rebecca from the circular.

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And then he spied Kala, who, returning from a search for food with her young babe, was ignorant of the state of the mighty male's temper until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows caused her to scamper madly for safety.

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But while she was in the mountains, she was hunted by some goat-herds and given up with her babe to Lycaon.

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A FAMISHING Wolf, passing the door of a cottage in the forest, heard a Mother say to her babe:

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After all, to have one burden the less on their shoulders may prove a relief, though there are still two children left--a babe at the breast and a little girl of six!

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But a shepherd found the babe and tended him, and delivered him to another shepherd who took him to his master, the King or Corinth.

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Again, at the first instant of perceiving that thin visage, and the slight deformity of the figure, she pressed her infant to her bosom with so convulsive a force that the poor babe uttered another cry of pain.

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But it made the captain remember back across the years to his own girl babe asleep on his arm.

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Ever jealous for the race, they will legislate for the babes of boys yet to be born; and for the babes of girls, too, for they must be the mothers, wives, and sisters of these boys.

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