gestation

  • noun 1 the process of carrying or the state of being carried in the womb between conception and birth. 2 the development of a plan or idea over a period of time.

  — DERIVATIVES gestate verb.

  — ORIGIN Latin, from gestare ‘carry, carry in the womb’.

Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary

About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day

Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names