preemie N. Amer. slang.
(ˈpriːmɪ)
Also premie, premy.
[f. premature n. + -y6, -ie.]
A premature birth; a baby born prematurely. Also attrib.
| 1927 Amer. Speech II. 314/1 A baby delivered prematurely is a ‘premy’. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §534/6 Premie, a premature birth. 1949 N.Y. Times 25 Sept. i. 75/2 Saving 75 per cent of the ‘preemies’ born. Ibid., The dread eye diseases said to afflict ‘preemies’ are unfounded. 1968 Trans-Action Oct. 7/2 The prematures were more likely to be below their proper grade in school. Among white children..19·4 percent of the preemies were..in special classes. 1975 Time (Canada ed.) 19 May 57/1 The preemie's sense of security is further heightened by the recorded sound of a pregnant mother's heartbeat piped into the artificial womb. 1976 Word 1971 XXVII. 61 The present-day premie nursery is the precursor of the prenatal assessment laboratory of tomorrow. |