Etymologically
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underage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˌʌndəɹˈeɪd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English under- + age, from the phrase under age, below the legal age of majority.[2][3][4][5] Age here is the noun.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Below a certain age or age limit; too young: the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates this sense to 1561,[2] the Shorter Oxford to the late 16th century,[3] and Etymonline and Dictionary.com date the phrase under age to the 1590s.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first described a person who had not reached the age of majority.[4][3] By 1978 it was also used of an act done by someone below the legal age for it, as in underage drinking, and this second sense is now common in the dictionaries.[4][2][6] Collins and the Oxford Dictionary of English tie the word especially to the legal age for drinking, voting or sex.[7][6] Wiktionary also records it in sport for teams or competitions limited to players below a certain age.[1]

Timeline

  • 1561 – below the required or legal age (Merriam-Webster Unabridged).[2]
  • late 16th century – too young, and the phrase under age in the 1590s.[3][4]
  • by 1978 – done by or involving people below the legal age.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Below the legal or required age, especially for drinking alcohol, voting or having sex: The bar was fined for serving underage customers.[7][6][2][8]
  2. Done by or involving people below that age: underage drinking.[2][6]
  3. Limited to players below a certain age; junior.[1]
  • overage
  • nonage

Usage notes

A separate noun underage, a shortfall or deficit, as of money or goods on hand compared with the amount in the books, is formed with the suffix -age and is stressed on the first syllable.[2][8][5] Dictionary.com dates it to 1605–15.[5] The adjective is also written under-age or under age, and Collins records underaged too.[4][7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt