viviparous
|vi-vi-pa-rous|
🇺🇸
/vɪˈvɪpərəs/
🇬🇧
/vɪˈvɪp(ə)rəs/
giving birth to live young
Etymology
'viviparous' originates from New Latin 'viviparus', itself from Classical Latin components 'vivus' meaning 'alive' and 'parere' meaning 'to bring forth'.
'viviparous' entered English from New Latin 'viviparus' in the early 17th century; the Latin compound combined 'vivus' + 'parere' and was adapted into English as 'viviparous'.
Initially it meant 'bringing forth living young'; this core meaning has been retained, though it has also been extended to describe similar phenomena in plants (vivipary).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
producing living young (rather than eggs); bearing embryos that develop inside the mother's body and are born alive.
Most mammals are viviparous, giving birth to live young.
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Adjective 2
in botany and ecology: (of some plants) producing seedlings or plantlets that begin to develop before detaching from the parent plant (vivipary).
Some mangrove species are viviparous, with seedlings sprouting while still attached to the parent tree.
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Last updated: 2025/12/01 01:01