Where does “infancy” come from?
Infancy derives from Latin infantia, formed from the prefix in- meaning "not" and the root bʰeh₂- meaning "to speak," ultimately tracing through Proto-Indo-European elements ne and bʰeh₂-.
infancy (English): The earliest period of childhood; The state of...
Definitions
- The earliest period of childhood; The state of...
Ancestry of “infancy”, step by step
infancy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English infant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | infant | A very young human being, from birth to somewhere... |
| 2 | Middle English | infaunt | baby, infant |
| 3 | Latin | īnfāntem | — |
| 4 | Latin | īnfāns | speechless, inarticulate |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |