Hatching

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈhæt͡ʃɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The event wherein a developing embryo breaks through an eggshell signifies the transition from incubation to life
2. This term encompasses the emergence of a new organism from its egg, marking the start of its existence
3. The process by which a young animal breaks out of its egg and begins life ; a technique in drawing involving creating shading or texture through parallel lines placed near each other

Etymology: The most striking thing about "hatching" is that it has at least two unrelated ancestors, and the one that produced the sense of an egg opening is the older of the two. The verb "hatch" is ultimately linked to words for a hedge or gate. In Old English, a related verb meant "to peck out" or "to hatch," and it was cognate with German "hecken," meaning "to breed" or "to spawn," which is why the egg sense and the sense of bringing forth young sit so naturally together. A separate "hatch" came from Old French "hacher," meaning "to chop" or "to incise with fine lines," which is the root of the sense of cutting fine parallel strokes in drawing. That verb descends from a Frankish word related to the English "hack," so the two are often confused, though they are different words that happen to share a spelling. The present participle "hatching" thus draws on the Germanic line of meaning rather than the chopping one. Its everyday sense of an embryo breaking free of its shell reflects that older Germanic verb for bringing forth young.

Synonyms: emergence, breaking, incubation, birth, sprouting

Antonyms: embedding, concealment