of or having to do with premature birth, or born prematurely
noun
2.
a preterm baby
preterm in American English
(priˈtɜːrm)
adjective
1.
occurring earlier in pregnancy than expected; premature
preterm labor
noun
2.
a baby born prematurely, esp. one born before the 37th week of pregnancy and weighing less than 51⁄2 lb. (2.5 kg)
Word origin
[1925–30; pre- + term]This word is first recorded in the period 1925–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Nazi, chain reaction, distinctive feature, dropout, hot spotpre- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “before”(preclude; prevent); applied freely as a prefix, with the meanings “prior to,” “in advance of,” “early,”“beforehand,” “before,” “in front of,” and with other figurative meanings (preschool; prewar; prepay: preoral; prefrontal)