Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “underage” come from?

Underage derives from English under combined with Old English under, Old French -age, Latin -aticum, and Proto-Indo-European h₂egʰ-, ultimately connected through Latin aevum meaning age or lifetime.

underage (English): Below the legal age for some activity, such as...

Definitions

  1. Below the legal age for some activity, such as...

Ancestry of “underage”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishageThe whole duration of a being, whether animal,...
2Middle EnglishageAlternative form of awe; The age of someone ; the...
3Old Frenchaageage
4Vulgar Latinaetaticumage
5Latinaetās—
6Latinaevitās—
7Proto-Italicaiwotātsage
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eyu-vitality; eternal; vital force, life, long life,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ey-vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning

Words derived from “underage”

  • underaged
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ey- →