age

Pronunciation: /eɪd͡ʒ/

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun how long something has existed
  2. noun an era of history having some distinctive feature
  3. noun a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises

Etymology

From Middle English age, Old French aage, eage, edage, from an assumed Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem, itself derived from aevum (“lifetime”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force”). Compare French âge. Displaced native Old English ieldu. The verb is from Middle English agen, from the noun. Originally found mostly as a participial adjective, probably an adjective in -ed, derived from the noun, reanalyzed to create a verb; perhaps modeled on such pairs as Latin senēscō (seneō; verb) / senex (adjective) and Middle French vieillir (verb) / vieil (adjective). Also compare Old French se aagier, eogier (“become of age”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
property
Narrower (hyponyms)
newness, fetal age, mental age, youngness, chronological age, oldness

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