Sep 22, 2018 11:16
6 yrs ago
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English term
conceive
English
Other
History
I am interested in knowing whether the word "conceive" can properly be used in reference to a man alone, saying (for example):
He conceived many children throughout his lifetime.
I know that there are alternatives (such as fathered/sired/had/etc.), but I am not looking for a substitute at the moment.
Thank you in advance for your insights.
He conceived many children throughout his lifetime.
I know that there are alternatives (such as fathered/sired/had/etc.), but I am not looking for a substitute at the moment.
Thank you in advance for your insights.
Responses
2 +4 | IMO, no | Taña Dalglish |
3 | conceive of | coldspring (X) |
Responses
+4
17 mins
Selected
IMO, no
IMO, he "conceived" many children .... Under normal circumstances, it is only the woman that "conceives". So, no "conceive" cannot be used in reference to a man alone. But one never knows what with this world changing so much, and with the advent of horrible terms such as Mx (off-toipic - gender neutral), it would not be surprising (joke!).
However, in exceptional cases, here are some examples of "conceive", but always in conjunction with a partner, or a third party.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06donor.html
Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago, ....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_pregnancy
George Francisco and his wife Susan decide to have a third child, it is revealed that, in order to conceive, a Tectonese couple needs a third party, called a binnaum, to complete impregnation, and that the male carries the baby—encased in a pod—during the final months of gestation.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceive
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/es/diccionario/ingles/conc...
4. verbo
When a woman conceives, she becomes pregnant.
Women, he says, should give up alcohol before they plan to conceive. [VERB]
About one in six couples has difficulty conceiving. [VERB]
A mother who already has non-identical twins is more likely to conceive another set of twins. [VERB noun]
become pregnant, get pregnant, become impregnated
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Note added at 22 mins (2018-09-22 11:38:43 GMT)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_pregnancy
Intersex people
Certain rare disorders of sex development in karyotpical (46, XY) males cause the paramesonephric ducts to develop into the Müllerian structures required for pregnancy, as in a female. While affected intersex women are infertile (producing no gametes), they may successfully carry and deliver a pregnancy with assisted reproductive technology (ART). There are also documented cases of individuals with XY-predominant mosaicism conceiving naturally, including a person with a 96% XY karyotype and ovotestes (true hermaphroditism).[17] There has been a reported case of an XY-predominant woman who experienced regular menstruation, two natural pregnancies, and gave birth.[18]
Transgender men
Main article: Transgender pregnancy
Some transgender men can become pregnant. This is possible for transgender men who have undergone female puberty (not taken blockers) and retain functioning ovaries and a uterus even after having otherwise physically transitioned to male with HRT.[19][20][21] While previous testosterone usage does not preclude pregnancy, it must temporarily cease prior to conception and for the duration of the pregnancy to ensure a healthy outcome.
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Note added at 2 days 1 hr (2018-09-24 12:22:41 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you Amel.
However, in exceptional cases, here are some examples of "conceive", but always in conjunction with a partner, or a third party.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06donor.html
Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago, ....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_pregnancy
George Francisco and his wife Susan decide to have a third child, it is revealed that, in order to conceive, a Tectonese couple needs a third party, called a binnaum, to complete impregnation, and that the male carries the baby—encased in a pod—during the final months of gestation.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceive
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/es/diccionario/ingles/conc...
4. verbo
When a woman conceives, she becomes pregnant.
Women, he says, should give up alcohol before they plan to conceive. [VERB]
About one in six couples has difficulty conceiving. [VERB]
A mother who already has non-identical twins is more likely to conceive another set of twins. [VERB noun]
become pregnant, get pregnant, become impregnated
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2018-09-22 11:38:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_pregnancy
Intersex people
Certain rare disorders of sex development in karyotpical (46, XY) males cause the paramesonephric ducts to develop into the Müllerian structures required for pregnancy, as in a female. While affected intersex women are infertile (producing no gametes), they may successfully carry and deliver a pregnancy with assisted reproductive technology (ART). There are also documented cases of individuals with XY-predominant mosaicism conceiving naturally, including a person with a 96% XY karyotype and ovotestes (true hermaphroditism).[17] There has been a reported case of an XY-predominant woman who experienced regular menstruation, two natural pregnancies, and gave birth.[18]
Transgender men
Main article: Transgender pregnancy
Some transgender men can become pregnant. This is possible for transgender men who have undergone female puberty (not taken blockers) and retain functioning ovaries and a uterus even after having otherwise physically transitioned to male with HRT.[19][20][21] While previous testosterone usage does not preclude pregnancy, it must temporarily cease prior to conception and for the duration of the pregnancy to ensure a healthy outcome.
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Note added at 2 days 1 hr (2018-09-24 12:22:41 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you Amel.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Taña. Like you, I have noticed that the word is often used with reference to both the man and woman in a sentence. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Charles Davis
1 hr
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Didier Declercq (X)
4 hrs
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Thank you.
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agree |
Björn Vrooman
: Nice to see some patois in the discussion box; it's been some time since I listened to dancehall. // I understand, but it's the closest you can get to Jamaica when you live in middle Europe =)
5 hrs
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Thank you Björn. I am not very good at the "patois", and I detest the dancehall music, I am afraid. Not a fan at all! In fact I understand very little patois, but one thing, it is very expressive! LOL!
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agree |
acetran
1 day 23 hrs
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Thank you.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, Taña - and everyone."
28 days
conceive of
Depending on the context of what needs to be said, this word could work if written as "he conceived of having many children through his lifetime." As in, the man has it in his mind, or formulates a plan that he will have children.
If it is in the context of literally, directly conceiving a child however, then the answers already given are perfectly satisfactory.
If it is in the context of literally, directly conceiving a child however, then the answers already given are perfectly satisfactory.
Reference:
Discussion
Just as to mother has stopped being common for to give birth to, I'd like to see to father evolve into meaning to care for as a father.
It seems only fair to mothers, when fathers can already mother a child.
Best wishes
gerund or present participle: fathering
be the father of.
"he fathered three children"
sinónimos: be the father of, sire, engender, generate, bring into being, bring into the world, give life to, spawn; reproduce, breed, (literary), beget
treat with the protective care associated with a father.
be the source or originator of.
sinónimos: establish, institute, originate, initiate, put in place, invent, found, create, generate, conceive
Augustus the Strong probably didn't even know all his children, let alone look after them, but the father in your second source did at least attend to their education and spiritual welfare.
Here's both "have" and "father":
"So, which king had the most bastards? That honor probably goes to Augustus the Strong, born a German prince and elected king of Poland in 1697. He didn't like keeping it in his pants, fathering a reported 354 illegitimate children in his spare time. "
https://www.ranker.com/list/leaders-with-the-most-kids/carly...
"He reportedly had so many children that he built two schools just to educate his own kids, as well as a church explicitly for his gigantic family to attend..."
https://www.babygaga.com/15-men-who-fathered-the-most-childr...
As has been said before in the discussion, though, "father" is just as (il)legitimate.
"Edward III Plantagenet (1312-1377) had many children throughout his reign."
https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?refere...
Best
@Didier: I did find one or two, to my surprise: in the American Heritage Dictionary, for example:
"1. a. To provide the sperm that unites with an egg to produce (an embryo, fetus, or child).
b. To act or serve as a father to (a child)."
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=father
But in my experience definition (b) isn't used, as we've said.
Perhaps it should be: the idea that creating children is something men do and looking after them is something women do, which the different uses of "to father" and "to mother" seem to imply, is hardly desirable. Perhaps we should start using "to father" to refer to nurturing. But then nowadays we have "to parent" for that.
It's possible that some dictionaries do say that, I haven't checked. Because I agree with you, Charles, that to father a child is not used in the same way as to mother a child.
I admit that my entry was misleading, since I wanted to write fathering, not to father, in response to your entry.
Two interpretations: fathering as a verb, and fathering as a noun.
I will edit my first comment; it was not relevant to Amel's issue with "to conceive".
Yes, agree that father(ed) as verb is used almost exclusively to mean beget (provide sperm to fertilise egg that results ultimately in a child) but it has been used in literature in past (I think) and here is a South African version https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09589236.2012.70...
and perhaps it is still used by some Bible groups to describe God's guidance but wouldn't be at all common. So could be discounted really.
I agree with Yvonne. Used intransitively, only a woman can conceive. Used transitively, a man alone can't conceive.