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gebären = to give birth

Sie gebar ein Baby. (She gave birth to a baby.)

When we talk about non-living things, can we still use the verb gebären in a figurative way?

Die Stadt gebar eine neue Kultur. (The city gave birth to a new culture.)

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That word is gebären with er/sie/es gebar in Past tense.(1)

This verb is very unusual in modern language. It sounds very antiquated, like from the 18th century or earlier. That is why I would not use it at all. Therefore, to use it sounds very strange and stilted today. Possibly medical specialized texts still commonly use it. You better say "Sie bekam ein Baby" or "In der Stadt entstand eine neue Kultur."

EDIT: A survival is the passive phrase "wurde geboren" (like in "Ich wurde am 1.1.01 geboren.") which is still very common in use, if not almost the normal case (but pay attention, it sounds quite magniloquent for non-living things).

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    When it's not about human beings, hervorbringen is a good alternative. – RHa Jan 11 at 8:54
  • I think the infinitive is also more common than the conjugated forms (except for the past participle that you mention, of course). – Carsten S Jan 11 at 19:45
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    A rare habitat for survival of "gebären" is the saying "Der Berg kreißte und gebar eine Maus" – Hagen von Eitzen Jan 13 at 7:41
  • @HagenvonEitzen, passierte das in einem Kreißsaal? Ich bin verwirrt. – Carsten S Feb 9 at 13:52
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    Ich würde zustimmen, dass es nicht der häufigste Term ist, aber "very unusual" finde ich arg übertrieben, und "18th century" auch fehlleitend. Im 20. Jahrhundert wurde es, wenn stärker in dessen ersten Hälfte, benutzt. "Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik" von Nietzsche stammt aus dem 19. Jhrhdt. – user unknown Feb 9 at 16:56

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