# How far back does the word "baby" as a term of endearment for a significant other date to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096 "2021-06-26T23:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/1 "2021-06-26T23:31:38Z")
Calling someone “baby” doesn’t really seem like a compliment, if you think about it. But people call their significant other, “baby” all the time, and don’t literally mean “you’re acting like an infant”, but “you’re dear to me.” How far back does this colloquialism go, and is it limited to English? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/2 "2021-06-26T23:43:00Z")
It goes back [a long way](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=baby). > [baby (n.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/baby#etymonline_v_167) > > late 14c., babi, “infant of either sex,” diminutive of babe (see babe) with -y (3). Meaning “childish adult person” is from c. 1600. Meaning “youngest of a group” is by 1897. As a term of endearment for one’s lover it is attested perhaps as early as 1839, certainly by 1901 (OED writes, “the degree of slanginess in the nineteenth-century examples is not easily determinable”); its popularity perhaps boosted by baby vamp “a popular girl” (see vamp (n.2)), student slang from c. 1922. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/3 "2021-06-27T01:59:25Z")
I call my wife “babe” all the time. It’s nice to know that it likely dates from 1839. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/4 "2021-06-27T02:51:34Z")
The word, used thus, seems extremely infantilizing to me. I would never use it that way, and if someone called me that, I would politely ask them not to. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/5 "2021-06-27T05:04:28Z")
I call her babe, and she calls me sweetie. It works quite well for us. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/6 "2021-06-27T11:16:38Z")
Then again, by the standards of the timeframes over which languages develop, 1839 - less than two centuries in the past - isn’t all that long ago. I’m actually surprised it isn’t much older than that. “Baby” as a Word for an infant is certainly older (you can see it in the word itself - it’s an imitation of baby talk itself, and this very likely to go a very long way back in the history of language). And once you have a word for an infant, using that word as a term for endearment for a loved one isn’t such a big leap. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/7 "2021-06-27T11:19:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I would never use it that way, and if someone called me that, I would politely ask them not to. Don’t call me Cookie and I won’t call you Cake. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/8 "2021-06-27T12:17:24Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > How far back does this colloquialism go, and is it limited to English? I don’t know another language it was used in, and “tested” as such sounds utterly inane, but due to the ubiquity of English language pop culture, it feels perfectly normal in that particular context / language. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/9 "2021-06-27T14:57:58Z")
Without any evidence, I suggest that calling a female “Baby” or “Babe” is mainly confined to the US. I think that most, if not all of the women with whom I am acquainted would object to being infantilised in this way. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/10 "2021-06-27T15:22:07Z")
I’m not sure what, if anything, the existence of this song says, but it seems to be relevant. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew9BQIQSzsk) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/11 "2021-06-27T15:29:36Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Without any evidence, I suggest that calling a female “Baby” or “Babe” is mainly confined to the US. A quick perusal of song titles from the UK and other English speaking countries will disabuse you of that notion real quick. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/12 "2021-06-27T15:34:01Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The word, used thus, seems extremely infantilizing to me. It doesn’t have to be. It’s extremely common in use by both men and women. As @Bootb notes, it’s used in popular song constantly and has been for a century. However, there was a period in the 1920s and 30s when young women resorted to baby talk with their men. It’s thoroughly satirized in this scene from Horsefeathers. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lhrjnSyKBYw/hqdefault.jpg "Horse Feathers canoe scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhrjnSyKBYw) I don’t know of any equivalent in your or my lifetimes, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/13 "2021-06-27T15:38:56Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Then again, by the standards of the timeframes over which languages develop, 1839 - less than two centuries in the past - isn’t all that long ago. I’m actually surprised it isn’t much older than that. “Baby” as a Word for an infant is certainly older (you can see it in the word itself - it’s an imitation of baby talk itself, and this very likely to go a very long way back in the history of language). And once you have a word for an infant, using that word as a term for endearment for a loved one isn’t such a big leap. Of course it may well be older than that. With this sort of thing, you’re of course limited to written examples. This usage seems like the kind of thing that people might have used in private, spoken conversations. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/14 "2021-06-27T16:31:21Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Without any evidence, I suggest that calling a female “Baby” or “Babe” is mainly confined to the US. > > I think that most, if not all of the women with whom I am acquainted would object to being infantilised in this way. I think you may be confusing two, or possibly three, different things: 1. “Baby” or “babe” as a term of endearment for a significant other (of either sex), which is what this thread is about 2. “Baby” or “babe” as a patronizing way that a (sexist?) man might address a woman. 3. Slang for a “hot” or attractive woman (“She’s a _babe_! If she was a president, she’d be Babe-raham Lincoln.”) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/15 "2021-06-27T22:35:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “Baby” or “babe” as a term of endearment for a significant other (of either sex), which is what this thread is about I still see that as an overt and explicit infantilizing term, when used by someone of any gender as a term of endearment toward someone of any gender. How much more explicitly infantilizing can a term like “baby” be? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/16 "2021-06-28T00:47:38Z")
Good for you. You can make this your personal cause to eradicate. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/17 "2021-06-28T01:20:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I still see that as an overt and explicit infantilizing term, when used by someone of any gender as a term of endearment toward someone of any gender. How much more explicitly infantilizing can a term like “baby” be? You may be right about that. It’s not a term I ever use myself, and it does strike me as odd. But the fact remains that it is a very common and popular term of endearment, which apparently lots of people do _not_ find demeaning or problematic. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/18 "2021-06-28T05:42:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I still see that as an overt and explicit infantilizing term, when used by someone of any gender as a term of endearment toward someone of any gender. How much more explicitly infantilizing can a term like “baby” be? This is General Questions, so all comments should be related to a factual answer to the OP’s question. Debates over the appropriateness of the term “baby” as a term of endearment belong elsewhere, so everyone please bear that in mind. RickJay Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/19 "2021-06-28T05:54:35Z")
There’s a related phenomenon in Spanish of calling both your children and your lovers “mami/papi” or diminutives thereof (“mamacita” etc.) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096/20 "2021-06-28T06:51:29Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Without any evidence, I suggest that calling a female “Baby” or “Babe” is mainly confined to the US. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kle2xHhRHg4/maxresdefault.jpg "The Beatles - Eight Days A Week") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kle2xHhRHg4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-back-does-the-word-baby-as-a-term-of-endearment-for-a-significant-other-date-to/945096.md?page=2)