Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “adolescence” come from?

Adolescence comes from Middle English adolescence, from Old French adolescence, from Latin adolescentia, the noun form of adolescens, meaning "growing up," from adolesco, composed of the prefix ad- and a root meaning "to grow."

adolescence (English): The transitional period of physical and...

Definitions

  1. The transitional period of physical and...

Ancestry of “adolescence”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishadolescence—
2Old Frenchadolescenceadolescence
3Latinadolescentianominative neuter plural of adolēscēns;...
4Latinadolescensgrowing up, maturing; increasing, augmenting
5Latinadolescerepresent active infinitive of adolēscō

Words derived from “adolescence”

  • preadolescence
  • postadolescence
Every word from Latin adolescere →