Maturity
/məˈtjʊə.ɹɪti/noun
The state of being fully developed or grown up.
Did you know?Maturity comes from Latin maturitas, tied to maturus, meaning “ripe” or “early ripe,” so the word originally had more to do with harvest timing than wisdom.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meh₂-
“To ripen, mature, or become timely”
Latin
Latin
maturus
“Ripe; timely; early ripe”
Latin
Latin
maturitas
“Ripeness; full development; timeliness”
Old French
Old French
maturité
“Ripeness; maturity”
Middle English
English
maturite
“Ripeness; full development”
Modern English
English
maturity
“The state of being fully developed or grown up”