youth

Meaning

Noun

• The quality or state of being young.
• The part of life following childhood; the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood.
• A young person.
• A young man; a male adolescent or young adult.
• Young persons, collectively.

Origin

• From Middle English youthe, youhthe, ȝouthe, ȝewethe, ȝuȝethe, ȝeoȝuthe, from Old English ġeoguþ, from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz, corresponding to young + -th. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend.