Learn English – did “born and bred” originally have different meaning

etymologyphrases

Internet searching suggests the phrase "born and bred in Boston" means the same thing as "born and raised in Boston."

But "bred" is the past-tense of "breed."

Might "born and bred in Boston" have originally meant "born in Boston to parents who lived in Boston at the time of conception"?

Best Answer

The saying born and bred dates back at least to the 17th century as shown in Ngram. To breed at that time already meant also to grow up ( late 14th c.) so there is not reason to suppose that the expression had originally a meaning different from the contemporary one.

Born and bred:

  • used to say that someone was born and grew up in a particular place, and has the typical character of someone who lives there:

Breed (v.): (Etymonline)

  • Old English bredan "bring young to birth, carry," also "cherish, keep warm," from West Germanic *brodjan (cognates: Old High German bruoten, German brüten "to brood, hatch"), from *brod- "fetus, hatchling," from PIE *bhreue- "burn, heat" (see brood (n.)). Original notion of the word was incubation, warming to hatch. Sense of "grow up, be reared" ( in a clan, etc.) is late 14c.