English
infant
Infant comes from Latin īnfāns ‘an infant’, from fāns ‘speaking’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāns‘speaking’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfānsas īnfāns‘an infant’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400enfaunt
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infaunt‘baby, infant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590infant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāns‘speaking’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfānsas īnfāns‘an infant’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400enfaunt
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infaunt‘baby, infant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590infant
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto II: “Retourned home, the royall Infant fell / Into her…”
The story
Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (‘not’) + fāns, present participle of for (‘to speak’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, famous, favourite, favor, photographer, ban, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, bee, fate, fame, fabulous, fantasy, fatal, fancy, fairy, abandon, symphony, beacon, beck, confession, confess, boon, eff, phantom, prophetic, foyer, fab, buoy, bane, epiphany, fay, profess, bene, 129 more
Today it means
noun A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / infant