Gestation

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gestation \Ges*ta"tion\, n. [L. gestatio a bearing, carrying,
     fr. gestare to bear, carry, intens. fr. gerere, gestum, to
     bear: cf. F. gestation. See {Gest} deed, {Jest}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The act of wearing (clothes or ornaments). [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. The act of carrying young in the womb from conception to
        delivery; pregnancy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Exercise in which one is borne or carried, as on
        horseback, or in a carriage, without the exertion of his
        own powers; passive exercise. --Dunglison.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gestation
       n 1: the period during which an embryo develops (about 266 days
            in humans) [syn: {gestation period}]
       2: the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to
          birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her
          uterus [syn: {pregnancy}, {maternity}]
       3: the conception and development of an idea or plan

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  GESTATION, med. jur. The time during which a female, who has conceived, 
  carries the embryo or foetus in her uterus. By the common consent of 
  mankind, the term of gestation is considered to be ten lunar months, or 
  forty weeks, equal to nine calendar months and a week. This period has been 
  adopted, because general observation, when it could be correctly made, has 
  proved its correctness. Cyclop. of Pract. Med. vol. 4, p. 87, art. 
  Succession of inheritance. But this may vary one, two, or three weeks. Co. 
  Litt. 123 b, Harg. & Butler's, note 190*; Ryan's Med. Jurisp. 121; Coop. 
  Med. Jur: 18; Civ. Code of Louis. art. 203-211; 1 Beck's Med. Jur. 478. See 
  Pregnancy.