age English · revision 2504

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1275|origins=ine-pro *aiw-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /eɪdʒ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|age]], [[bor|fro|aage|t=age; life, lifetime; maturity]] (earlier [[m|fro|eage]], [[m|fro|edage]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[la-vul|*aetāticum]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) an extension of [[la|aetās|t=period of life, age]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) contracted from [[m|la|aevitās]], from [[m|la|aevum|t=lifetime, eternity]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) from [[ine-pro|*aiw-|t=vital force, life; long life, eternity]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) The root also gave [[grc|αἰών|tr=aiṓn|t=age]] and Old English [[m|ang|ā|t=always]].^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[aeon]], [[eternal]], [[primeval]], [[coeval]] and [[aye]].^(Klein 1966)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A long but indefinite period of history: about 1275,^(Barnhart 1988) or the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Age'' drove out the native ''eld'', Old English ''eald'', “old age; an age”.^(Etymonline) The length of a person's life and “old age” are early 14th-century senses, and the effects of old age mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) In early modern English an ''age'' could also be a century, which explains the plural in ''Middle Ages'' and ''Dark Ages''.^(Etymonline) In geology the word is used of periods in the earth's history by 1855, and in archaeology, as in ''Stone Age'', from 1865.^(Etymonline) ''Ages'', “a long time”, is a hyperbole recorded from 1577.^(HTOED) The verb “to grow old” is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and “to make old” from before 1420, in Lydgate.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Act one's age'' is from 1927.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1275 – a period of history.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – length of life; old age.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – verb, to grow old.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1420 – verb, to make old (Lydgate).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1577 – ''ages'', a long time.^(HTOED)

+ * 1855 – a geological age.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1865 – ''Stone Age''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1927 – ''act one's age''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The length of time that someone or something has existed.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The age at which certain legal rights begin: ''come of age''.^(AHD)

+ # A stage of life: ''middle age''.^(AHD)

+ # [[old age|alt=Old age]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A period of history or of the earth's history: ''the Stone Age''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal, often plural)'' A long time.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To grow or make old.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To mature or ripen, as wine or cheese.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ager]]

+ * [[preage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aeon]]

+ * [[eternal]]

+ * [[primeval]]

+ * [[coeval]]

+ * [[longevity]]

+ * [[aye]]

+ * [[aged]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}