Deliveries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The acts of taking goods or items to a destination ; the processes of bringing babies into the world
2. Instances of transporting products from one place to another ; occurrences of a child being born
3. Events where items or packages are handed over to recipients ; the medical procedures of childbirth

Etymology: Both senses of "deliveries" grow from a verb meaning "to set free." "Deliver" entered English through Old French "delivrer," which descends from Late Latin "liberare," "to free," itself built on Latin "liber," "free." The prefix "de-" strengthened the sense of release. To deliver someone was to free them, and from there the verb came to mean handing something over, as when a captive was surrendered or a parcel released to its recipient. The childbirth sense follows the same logic. To deliver a child was to release it from the mother's body, and midwives were said to "deliver" women in labour. The noun names the act of handing over or releasing, so the two meanings sit side by side. A parcel carried to a door and a child brought into the world are both things set loose from one place and placed in another.

Synonyms: shipments, consignments, transfers