gainbirth

English

Alternative forms
  • gain birth, gain-birth

Etymology

From gain- +‎ birth. Compare againbirth.

Noun

gainbirth (plural not attested)

  1. (rare, nonstandard) Regeneration; rebirth.
    • 1550 (1843), Sir John Cheke, The Gospel According to St. Matthew:
      What schal we have ŷen? Jesus said vnto ŷem, Je ŷt hav folowed me in ŷe gain birth when ŷ sõn of man schal sit in ŷe throon of his glorí, [...]
    • 1903, David James Burrell, Christ and Progress:
      One of these is Regeneration, or "the gainbirth" as the fathers were fond of calling it. A Christian is understood to be a new man in Christ Jesus; old things have passed away, all things are become new.
    • 2017, Bryan D. Spinks, Sacraments, Ceremonies and the Stuart Divines:
      Elsewhere he wrote: We see in baptism also that Christ, the Holy Ghost, grace, forgiveness of sins, our gainbirth which they call regeneration, do longer remain in them that be baptised than they do remain with the waters wherewith the faithful be washed. For the water is an instrument which God vouchsafeth to use that we may be grafted into Christ by baptism and we may be born again by the Holy Ghost.
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