源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

age

/eɪd͡ʒ/
The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    From Middle English age, Old French aage, eage, edage, from an assumed Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem, itself derived from aevum (“lifetime”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force”). Compare French âge. Displaced native Old English ieldu.

    The verb is from Middle English agen, from the noun. Originally found mostly as a participial adjective, probably an adjective in -ed, derived from the noun, reanalyzed to create a verb; perhaps modeled on such pairs as Latin senēscō (seneō; verb) / senex (adjective) and Middle French vieillir (verb) / vieil (adjective). Also compare Old French se aagier, eogier (“become of age”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishage
      • borrowedOld Frencheage
        • inheritedVulgar Latin*aetāticum
          • partLatinaetās “age”
            • inheritedProto-Italic*aiwotāts
              • partProto-Italic*aiwom
              • partProto-Italic*-tāts
                • inheritedProto-Indo-European*-teh₂ts
                  • partProto-Indo-European*-teh₂
                  • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos “between”
                  • partProto-Indo-European*-ts
          • partLatin-āticum
            • derivedLatin-āticus
              • partLatin-ātus “-ed”
              • partLatin-icus “-y, -ic”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*h₂ey- “life, vital force; long time; eternity”

    Related: French âge, Middle French vieillir

    Words built on it: old age

    Meanings

    noun
    1. The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)
    2. The state of being old; the latter part of life.
    3. Any particular stage of life.
    4. The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
    5. Maturity; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
    6. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
    verb
    1. To grow aged; to become old or older; to show marks of age.
    2. To suffer the passage of time so as to later be viewed or turn out in a certain way.
    3. To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
    4. To allow to mature.
    5. To treat or tamper with in order to give a false appearance of age.
    6. To determine the age of (the length of time that something has been alive or in existence).

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: age