English
adolescent
Adolescent may come from Middle English adolescent.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500adolescentuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1785adolescent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500adolescentuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1785adolescent
Earliest quotation: 1785, William Cowper: “Schools, unless discipline were doubly strong, / Detain their…”
first attested First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (“to become adult, grow up”), from ad- (“to”) + alēscere (“to grow or become nourished”) (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested ?1440, from Middle English adolescent, from Middle French adolescent or directly from Latin adolescentem, accusative form of adolescens, present participle of adolēscere (‘to become adult, grow up’), from ad- (‘to’) + alēscere (‘to grow or become nourished’). The adjective first appeared in 1785.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, ultra, alternate, alien, elder, alter, element, altitude, alumni, qualification, outrage, alt, altar, ou, ellen, alpine, alto, alias, abolish, alum, alibi, retaliate, alimony, alp, altruism, auld, ulterior, parallax, proletariat, exalt, foetal, althea, altimeter, eld, 66 more
through Latin alēscō ‘to grow or become nourished’
Today it means
adj Of, relating to, or at the age of adolescence; at the stage between being a child and an adult.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English adolescent / adolescent