Youth
/juːθ/noun
The period of life between childhood and adulthood, or young people collectively.
Did you know?English youth is related to words like young and even German Jugend, all tracing back to an old Germanic root tied to growing and becoming bigger.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*yeug-
“to join, unite, or make strong”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*juwaz / *jungaz
“young, youthful”
Old English
OE
geoguþ
“youth, young age”
Middle English
ME
youthe
“the state of being young; young people”
Modern English
English
youth
“the period of life before full adulthood”
Explore more surprising origins