Where does “crack baby” come from?

crack baby (English) comes from English baby, from Middle English baby, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.

crack baby (English): A child born to a mother who uses cocaine,...

Definitions

  1. A child born to a mother who uses cocaine,...

Ancestry of “crack baby”, step by step

crack baby traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English baby

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbabyA very young human, particularly from birth to a...
2Middle EnglishbabyA child or baby
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

via English crack

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcrackTo form cracks; To break apart under pressure; To...
2Middle Englishcrakloud conversation, bragging talk
3Old Norsekrákacrow
4Proto-Germanic*krakǭ
5Proto-Germanickrakōnąto crack; crackle; shriek
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵerh₂-to grow old, to mature
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱosEvery word from Old English -iġEvery word from Middle English -y