Etymologically
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adulthood

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈædʌlthʊd/, /əˈdʌlthʊd/[1]
  • US: /əˈdʌlthʊd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English adult + -hood,[2][3] probably after childhood.[2] The noun adult comes from the adjective,[3] which is borrowed from Latin adultus (“grown up, mature”), the past participle of adolēscō (“to grow up”).[2][3][4] English had earlier had adultness (from 1731) and adultage.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state or condition of being adult, or an adult: 1850, in the journal The Veterinarian.[2][3][5] The OED's first edition gave a later first date, about 1870, and defined the word simply as equal to adultness.[6]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its first meaning, extended to the period of life in which a person is an adult.[5][1]

Timeline

  • 1731 – adultness, the earlier word.[3]
  • 1850 – adulthood, the state of being adult.[2][3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The state or condition of being an adult: She reached adulthood during the war.[5][2]
  2. The period of life in which one is an adult, following adolescence.[5][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press