Etymologically
Log in

junior

Etymology and origin of the English word junior

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1296
Borrowed from
Latin iunior
Ultimate origin
Latin (iunior)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈdʒuː.ni.ə/, US /ˈdʒuː.njɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin jūnior (“younger”),[2][3] the comparative of iuvenis “young; a young man”,[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *yeu- (“vital force, youthful vigour”),[2] the root of young.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Used after a person's name for the younger of two, at first in Latin contexts: 1296 in Barnhart and the late 13th century in Etymonline,[3][2] in English from 1409 in the OED and 1448 in Barnhart.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a younger person, is from 1526,[3][6] or one of lower standing.[2] Youthful is from 1606 and is obsolete,[5][3] and of lower rank or more recent appointment from 1766.[5][2] In America Junior Class is from 1720,[3] and a third-year student in a college from 1862 and in a high school by 1896;[2] junior high school is from 1909.[2] The abbreviation Jr. is from the 1620s.[2] Meant for children or smaller in size is from 1860,[2][5] and Junior as a name for a young son from 1917, American English.[2]

Timeline

  • 1296 – after a name, the younger.[3]
  • 1526 – noun, a younger person.[3]
  • 1620s – Jr..[2]
  • 1766 – of lower standing.[5][2]
  • 1860 – for young people.[2]
  • 1862 – a third-year college student.[2]
  • 1909 – junior high school.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Lower in rank or with less experience.
  2. For or relating to young people: junior league.
  3. (US) Relating to the third year of high school or college.
  4. Used after the name of a son who has the same name as his father.

Noun

  1. A person who is younger, or lower in rank, than another.
  2. (US) A student in the third year of high school or college.
  3. (British) A child at a junior school.

Word family

  • prejunior
  • subjunior
  • juniority
  • junior college

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 l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Junior.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/junior. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·