teenager English · revision 7978

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1913}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtinˌeɪdʒɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|teenage|-er]],^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) also written teen ager and teen-ager.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person in their teens: 1913 in HTOED, 1922 in Etymonline, 1941 in the OED.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) SOED dates it to the mid-20th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The earlier word was teener, American English from 1894,^(Etymonline) and [[teen]] had been used as a noun for a teenaged person from 1818, though rarely before the 20th century.^(Etymonline) The ''Times Literary Supplement'', quoted by SOED, remarked that teenagers had not been invented in the 1880s.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1818 – teen, a teenager.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – teener.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1913 – teenager.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person aged between thirteen and nineteen; an [[adolescent]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)^(LDOCE 2009)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preteenager]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[teenage]]

+ * [[teen]]

+ * [[teens]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}