Fruit of your loins


What's the meaning of the phrase 'Fruit of your loins'?

One’s children.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Fruit of your loins'?

From the Bible, Genesis 35:11 (King James Version):

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

Should you be asked to ‘gird up your loins’, or otherwise wonder where your loins are exactly, you could refer to this rather coy definition from the OED:

[Loins]: “The part of the body that should be covered by clothing.”

That is what might have been called in the UK throughout most of the 20th century as ‘the nether regions’, and more recently ‘the wobbly bits’.

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.