Where does “teenage” come from?
Teenage derives from English teen plus the suffix -age, which comes from Middle English -age, Old French -age, and Latin -aticum, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂egʰ- meaning to drive or move.
teenage (English): Brushwood for fences and hedges; Of or relating...
Definitions
- Brushwood for fences and hedges; Of or relating...
Ancestry of “teenage”, step by step
teenage traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English age
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | age | The whole duration of a being, whether animal,... |
| 2 | Middle English | age | The age of someone or rarely something; how old someone is |
| 3 | Old French | aage | age |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | aetaticum | age |
| 5 | Latin | aetās | the period of a life: lifetime, lifespan |
| 6 | Latin | aevitās | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | aiwotāts | age |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eyu- | vitality; eternal; vital force, life, long life,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ey- | vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning |