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infant

Etymology and origin of the English word infant

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1376
Borrowed from
Old French enfant
Ultimate origin
Latin (infans)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪn.fənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French enfant, early made more like the Latin,[2][3] or directly from Latin īnfāns (“young child, babe in arms”),[2][4] the noun use of an adjective meaning “not able to speak”,[2][4][3] from in-, not, and fāns, present participle of fārī, to speak (see fame and ban).[2][4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a person under legal age, a minor: 1376 in the OED;[5] a baby or young child, about 1384 in the Wycliffe Bible.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The Romans extended īnfāns to older children, hence French enfant, child,[4] and English infant also had the wider sense “child”, commonly up to the age of seven.[4] In law it still means a minor, one who cannot yet speak for himself in law.[5][6] A beginner in some field is from 1526, and a thing in its earliest stage from about 1586.[5] The adjective is from about 1586.[2] Through Italian infante, a youth and a foot soldier, the same word gave infantry.[6][3] Infancy is from before 1398,[2] and infantile from 1443.[2]

Timeline

  • 1376 – a minor (law).[5]
  • c. 1384 – a baby.[2]
  • before 1398 – infancy.[2]
  • 1526 – a beginner.[5]
  • c. 1586 – infant (adjective).[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A child in the earliest stage of life; a baby.
  2. (law) A person under the age of majority; a minor.
  3. (UK) A young schoolchild, usually under seven.

Adjective

  1. Of or for infants: infant formula.
  2. Newly begun; in an early stage: an infant industry.

Word family

  • infanthood
  • infantlike
  • infant school

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Infant.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/infant. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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