childhood English · revision 4781

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 950|origins=en child, en -hood}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|childhod]], [[inh|ang|ċildhād]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) formed from cild “child” and -hād “state, condition”, the sources of [[child]] and [[-hood]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) German has a similar formation, Kindheit.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The state or stage of life of a child: about 950 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Childishness, a quality proper to a child, is from about 1175 and is obsolete,^(OED 1989) as is a childish action (about 1314).^(OED 1989) ''Second childhood'', the childishness of extreme old age, is from about 1400.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, the early stage of something, is from 1585.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – the state of being a child.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1175 – childishness.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – ''second childhood''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1585 – an early stage of something.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The time or state of being a [[child]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The early stage in the [[development]] of something.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prechildhood]]

+ * [[second childhood]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[child]]

+ * [[childish]]

+ * [[-hood]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}