maturity English · revision 15318

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1375|origins=la mātūrus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /məˈtjʊəɹɪti/, /-ɹət-/ ''(UK)''; /məˈtʊɹəti/, /-t͡ʃʊɹ-/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|maturite]], [[bor|fro|maturité]] and directly [[la|mātūritās|t=ripeness]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|mātūrus|t=ripe]] (see [[mature]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Mature consideration, due deliberation: about 1375 in the OED;^(OED 1989) maturity of character in the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Full mental and physical development of a person is from 1426,^(OED 1989) and ripeness or completeness from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) The word seems to have been reborrowed in early Modern English: Sir Thomas Elyot in 1531 wrote that he was forced to ‘usurp a Latin word’ for it.^(Etymonline) The full growth of animals and plants is from 1597,^(OED 1989) the ripeness of fruit and wine from 1665,^(OED 1989) and the financial sense, the time when a bill or bond falls due, by 1815.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1375 – due deliberation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1426 – full development of a person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1531 – reborrowed by Elyot.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1597 – full growth of plants and animals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1815 – maturity of a bill.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being fully grown or developed; [[adulthood]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The quality of behaving sensibly, like an adult.^(AHD)

+ # ''(finance)'' The date when a [[bond]] or bill becomes due for repayment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonmaturity]]

+ * [[overmaturity]]

+ * [[semimaturity]]

+ * [[yield to maturity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[maturation]]

+ * [[mature]]

+ * [[immature]]

+ * [[premature]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}