Etymologically
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teenage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtiːneɪd͡ʒ/ (UK); /ˈtineɪd͡ʒ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of teen, the years from thirteen to nineteen, and age,[2][3][4] also written “teen age” and “teen-age”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In or including the teen years: 1911 in Etymonline, at first of Sunday School classes;[2] designating someone in their teens, 1921 in the OED and MWU.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

Pertaining to or characteristic of a young person in their teens is from 1942.[5] The noun, the period of life between thirteen and nineteen, usually written as two words, is from 1934.[5] The form teen-aged is from 1922 in Etymonline,[2] and teenaged 1952 in the OED.[5]

Timeline

  • 1911 – in the teen years.[2]
  • 1921 – of a person in their teens.[5]
  • 1922 – teen-aged.[2]
  • 1934 – the noun, teen age.[5]
  • 1942 – characteristic of teenagers.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to people aged from thirteen to nineteen; adolescent.

Noun

  1. The period of a person's life between thirteen and nineteen.

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press