youth

youth

English

Alternative forms

• yought, youthe (both obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English youthe, youghte, ȝouþe, from Old English ġeoguþ (“the state of being young; youth”), from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz (“youth”), corresponding to young +‎ -th. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juːθ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /juθ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːθ

Noun

youth (countable and uncountable, plural youths)

1. (uncountable) The quality or state of being young.
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, “The Purchase Price”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314:

     Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

   • 1936 Feb. 15, Ernest Hemingway, letter to Maxwell Perkins:

     Feel awfully about Scott... It was a terrible thing for him to love youth so much that he jumped straight from youth to senility without going through manhood. The minute he felt youth going he was frightened again and thought there was nothing between youth and age.

   Synonyms: juvenility, youngness, (archaic) youngth, youthfulness

   Antonyms: age, dotage, old age, senility

   Her youth and beauty attracted him to her.

2. (uncountable) The part of life following childhood; the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood.

   Make the most of your youth, it will not last forever.

   I made many mistakes in my youth, but learned from them all.

   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, OCLC 59891543, page 49:

     I don't find the pose of carelessyouth charming and engaging any more than you find the pose of careworn age fascinating and eccentric, I should imagine.

   • 2013 January 1, Brian Hayes, “Father of Fractals”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, page 62:

     Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid.

3. (countable) A young person.

   Synonyms: adolescent, child, kid, lad, teen, teenager, youngster

   Antonyms: adult, grown-up

   There was a group of youths hanging around the parking lot, reading fashion magazines and listening to music.

4. (countable) A young man; a male adolescent or young adult.

   Synonyms: boy, young man

   • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter LII, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], OCLC 365836, pages 274–275:

     […] and then a youth appeared—no one quite knew where from or to whom he belonged—but he settled down with them in a happy-go-lucky way, and they all lived together.

5. (uncountable, used with a plural or singular verb) Young persons, collectively.

   Synonyms: adolescents, kids, teenagers, teens, young people, youngsters

Derived terms

• fountain of youth
• middle youth, mid youth
• yoof
• youth club
• youth culture
• youthful
• youth hostel
• youthly
• youthwards
• youth worker
• youthy

 

Related terms

• young

Translations

quality or state of being young

Afrikaans: jeug Albanian: rinia (sq) Arabic: شَبَاب‎ m (šabāb) Egyptian Arabic: شباب‎ m (šabāb) Aramaic: Syriac: ܛܰܠܝܽܘܬ݂ܳܐ‎ f (ṭalyūṯāʾ) Armenian: երիտասարդություն (hy) (eritasardutʿyun) Aromanian: giunatic n, giuneatsã f, tinireatsã f Assamese: ডেকাকাল m (dekakal) Asturian: xuventú f Azerbaijani: gənclik (az), cavanlıq Basque: gaztetasun Belarusian: маладо́сць f (maladóscʹ), юна́цтва n (junáctva), ю́насць f (júnascʹ) Bengali: যৌবন (ĵoubônô) Bulgarian: мла́дост (bg) f (mládost) Catalan: joventut (ca) f, (figuratively) abril (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 青春 (zh) (qīngchūn) Czech: mládí (cs) n Dutch: jeugd (nl) c Esperanto: juneco Fijian: cauravou (fj) Finnish: nuoruus (fi) French: jeunesse (fr) f Friulian: zoventût f, ğoventût f Galician: xuventude (gl) f, mocidade (gl) f Georgian: ახალგაზრდობა (ka) (axalgazrdoba), ახალგაზრდულობა (axalgazrduloba) German: Jugend (de) f, Jugendlichkeit (de) f Greek: νεότητα (el) f (neótita) Ancient: νεότης f (neótēs), ἥβη f (hḗbē) Hebrew: נְעוּרִים‎ (he) m pl (ne'urím) Hindi: जवानी (hi) f (javānī), यौवन (hi) m (yauvan), युवावस्था f (yuvāvasthā) Hungarian: fiatalság (hu) Icelandic: æska f, ungdæmi (is) n Ido: yuneso (io) Irish: óige f, macaomhacht f Italian: gioventù (it) f, giovinezza (it) Japanese: 若々しさ (わかわかしさ, wakawakashisa), 未熟さ (みじゅくさ, mijukusa), 青春 (ja) (せいしゅん, seishun), 若さ (わかさ, wakasa) Javanese: kanoman (jv) Kabuverdianu: mosindadi Khmer: យុវវ័យ (yuvĕəʼvɨy) Korean: 젊음 (ko) (jeolmeum), 청춘 (ko) (cheongchun) Ladin: junëza f Ladino: jyovintud f (גﬞובﬞינטוד) Latin: iuventās f, iuventūs f, iuvenilitas f Latvian: jaunība f Macedonian: мла́дост f (mládost), мла́дина f (mládina) Malayalam: യുവത്വം (ml) (yuvatvaṃ) Maltese: please add this translation if you can Middle English: youthe, youthhede Mongolian: залуу (mn) (zaluu) Norwegian: ungdom (no) m Occitan: joventut (oc) f Old Norse: ǿska f Persian: جوانی‎ (fa) (javâni) Polish: młodość (pl) f Portuguese: juventude (pt) f Romanian: tinerețe (ro) f, (archaic) junime (ro) f Romansch: giuventetgna f, giuventetna f, giuventüna f Russian: ю́ность (ru) f (júnostʹ), мо́лодость (ru) f (mólodostʹ) Sardinian: gioventura f, ciuintura f, giuventura f, zoventura f, gioventudi Scottish Gaelic: òige f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: мла̏до̄ст f Roman: mlȁdōst (sh) f Sicilian: picciottu (scn) m, giuvintuti (scn) f, giuvintù (scn) f Slovak: mladosť f Slovene: mladost (sl) f Spanish: juventud (es) f Swahili: ujana (sw) Swedish: ungdom (sv) c Sylheti: ꠎꠥꠀꠘꠤ (zuani) Telugu: యౌవనము (te) (yauvanamu) Thai: วัยหนุ่มสาว (wainùmsăao) Turkish: gençlik (tr) Ukrainian: мо́лодість f (mólodistʹ), ю́ність (uk) f (júnistʹ), юна́цтво (uk) n (junáctvo) Urdu: جوانی‎ f (javānī) Venetian: zoventù, xoventù Vietnamese: tuổi trẻ (vi) Yiddish: יוגנט‎ (yugnt)

part of life following childhood

Arabic: شباب‎ m (šabāb), صبا‎ m (ṣibā) Egyptian Arabic: شباب‎ m (šabāb) Armenian: երիտասարդություն (hy) (eritasardutʿyun), պատանեկություն (hy) (patanekutʿyun) Asturian: xuventú f Azerbaijani: gənclik (az), cavanlıq Basque: gaztaro Bulgarian: мла́дост (bg) f (mládost), младини (bg) pl (mladini) Catalan: joventut (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 芳華／芳华 (zh) (fānghuá), 青年時期／青年时期 (qīngnián shíqí), 青春 (zh) (qīngchūn), 華年／华年 (zh) (huánián), 英年 (zh) (yīngnián) Czech: mládí (cs) n Dutch: jeugd (nl) f Esperanto: junaĝo Finnish: nuoruus (fi), nuoruusikä French: jeunesse (fr) f Friulian: zoventût f, ğoventût f Galician: xuventude (gl) f Georgian: ახალგაზრდობა (ka) (axalgazrdoba), სიყმაწვილე (siq̇mac̣vile) German: Jugend (de) f, Jugendzeit (de) f Greek: νιάτα (el) n pl (niáta) Hungarian: fiatalkor (hu), ifjúság (hu), (adolescence) serdülőkor (hu), kamaszkor (hu) Irish: giollacht f, macaomhacht f Italian: giovinezza (it) f Japanese: 青春時代 (せいしゅんじだい, seishun jidai) Latin: iuventās f Latvian: jaunība f Malayalam: യൗവനം (ml) (yauvanaṃ) Maori: taiohinga Middle English: youthe, youthhede Norwegian: Bokmål: ungdomstid m or f Nynorsk: ungdomstid f Polish: młodość (pl) f Portuguese: infância (pt) f Romanian: tinerețe (ro) f Russian: мо́лодость (ru) f (mólodostʹ), ю́ность (ru) f (júnostʹ) Scottish Gaelic: òige f, òigeachd f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: мла̏до̄ст f Roman: mlȁdōst (sh) f Slovene: mladost (sl) f Spanish: juventud (es) f, adolescencia (es) f, mocedad (es) f, años mozos (colloquial) Swedish: ungdom (sv) c Telugu: యౌవనము (te) (yauvanamu) Turkish: gençlik (tr) Ukrainian: мо́лодість f (mólodistʹ), ю́ність (uk) f (júnistʹ), юна́цтво (uk) n (junáctvo)

young person

Arabic: شاب‎ m (šāb) Egyptian Arabic: شب‎ m (šab) Aromanian: gioni m, gione m Assamese: ডেকা m (deka), ডেকেৰী f (dekeri), গভুৰা m (gobhura), গাভৰু f (gabhoru) Asturian: xoven m or f Azerbaijani: gənc (az) Basque: gazte Belarusian: малады́ чалаве́к m (maladý čalavjék) Bengali: যুবক (bn) (ĵubôkô), যুবতী (bn) (ĵubôtī) Bulgarian: млад чове́к m (mlad čovék), младе́ж (bg) m (mladéž) Burmese: လူငယ် (my) (lu-ngai) Catalan: jove (ca) m or f Chinese: Mandarin: 青年人 (zh) (qīngniánrén), 年輕人／年轻人 (zh) (niánqīngrén) Cornish: yonker m, yonkores f Czech: mladistvý (cs) Esperanto: junulo Estonian: noor (et) Finnish: nuori (fi) French: jeune (fr) m or f Galician: xuventude (gl) m or f, mozo (gl) m, novo (gl) m Georgian: ახალგაზრდა (axalgazrda) German: Jugendlicher (de) m, Jugendliche (de) f Hebrew: נַעַר‎ (he) (ná'ar) Hindi: जवान (hi) m (javān), नौजवान (hi) m (naujvān), युवक (hi) m (yuvak), युवती f (yuvtī) Hungarian: fiatal (hu), ifjú (hu) Ido: yuno (io), yuneso (io) Indonesian: pemuda (id) Irish: aosánach m, boiteallach m, fleascach m, óg (ga) m Italian: giovane (it) m Japanese: 若者 (ja), わかもの (ja) (wakamono), 青少年 (ja) (せいしょうねん, seishōnen), 若年 (ja) (jakunen) Korean: 젊은이 (ko) (jeolmeuni), 청년 (ko) (cheongnyeon) Latin: iuvenis (la) m or f Latvian: jaunietis m, jauniete f Macedonian: млад чо́век m (mlad čóvek) Manchu: ᠠᠰᡳᡥᠠᡨᠠ (asihata) Middle English: youthe Ngazidja Comorian: shaɓaɓi Norwegian: ungdom (no) m Polish: młody człowiek m, młodzieniec (pl) m Portuguese: jovem (pt) m or f Romanian: tânăr (ro) m, tânără (ro) f, adolescent (ro) m, adolescentă (ro) f Russian: молодо́й челове́к (ru) m (molodój čelovék) Scottish Gaelic: òigear m Spanish: joven (es) m or f, adolescente (es) m or f, mozo (es) m, moza (es) f, mancebo (es) m, zagal Swahili: kijana (sw) Swedish: ungdom (sv) c Sylheti: ꠎꠥꠀꠘ (zuan) Taos: ȕłęłę’éna Telugu: యువకుడు (te) m (yuvakuḍu), యువతి (te) m (yuvati) Thai: คนหนุ่มสาว Turkish: genç (tr) Ukrainian: молода́ люди́на f (molodá ljudýna) Urdu: جوان‎ m (javān) Volapük: yunan (vo) White Hmong: hluas Wolof: ndaw (wo)

young man

Akkadian: 𒇽𒄨 (eṭlu, LÚ.GURUŠ), 𒄨 (eṭlu, GURUŠ), 𒂄 (eṭlu, ŠUL) Arabic: شَابّ‎ m (šābb) Egyptian Arabic: شب‎ m (šab) Aromanian: gioni m, gione m Belarusian: юна́к m (junák), малады́ чалаве́к m (maladý čalavjék), хло́пец m (xlópjec) Bulgarian: младе́ж (bg) m (mladéž), мо́мък (bg) m (mómǎk), ю́ноша (bg) m (júnoša), млад чове́к m (mlad čovék) Chinese: Mandarin: 青年 (zh) (qīngnián) Cornish: yonker m Czech: mladík (cs) m Danish: yngling Dutch: jongeman (nl) m Egyptian: (rnp), (ḥwn) Esperanto: junulo, knabo (eo), junuliĉo Finnish: nuorukainen (fi), nuorimies (fi) French: jeune (fr) m, jeune homme (fr) m Galician: rapaz (gl) m, mozo (gl) m, novo (gl) m Georgian: ყმაწვილი (q̇mac̣vili), ჭაბუკი (č̣abuḳi) German: Heranwachsender (de) m, junger Mann m, Jugendlicher (de) m, Halbwüchsiger m Gothic: 𐌾𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 m (juggalauþs) Greek: νιος (el) m (nios) Ancient: νεανίας m (neanías), νεανίσκος m (neanískos) Hebrew: בָּחוּר‎ (he) m (bakhúr) Hungarian: fiatalember (hu), fiatalúr (hu), legény (hu) Ido: yunulo (io) Irish: giolla m, stócach m, coileán m, macaomh m, ógánach m, ógbhaidh f (youths), ógra m (youths), scorach m, ógfhear m Italian: giovane (it) m, giovanotto (it) m, ragazzo (it) m Japanese: 若い人たち (わかいひと, wakai hito), 若者 (ja) (わかもの, wakamono), 青年 (ja) (seinen) Korean: 청년 (ko) (cheongnyeon) Latin: iuvenis (la) c, catulaster m Latvian: jaunietis m Macedonian: мо́мок m (mómok) Maltese: ġuvni m, ġuvintur m pl Mongolian: залуу (mn) (zaluu) Navajo: dinééh Northern Ohlone: kót̄so Norwegian: yngling (no) Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: юноша m (junoša) Old East Slavic: уноша m (unoša) Old Occitan: joven Ossetian: лӕппу (læppu), тырын (tyryn) Plautdietsch: Benjel m Polish: młodzieniec (pl) m, chłopak (pl) m Portuguese: rapaz (pt) m, moço (pt) m, jovem (pt) m Romanian: tânăr (ro) m, flăcău (ro) m, june (ro) m Russian: ю́ноша (ru) m (júnoša), молодо́й челове́к (ru) m (molodój čelovék), па́рень (ru) m (párenʹ) Sanskrit: युवन् (sa) m (yuvan) Scottish Gaelic: gille (gd) m, òganach m, ògan m, òglach m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: мо̀мак m Roman: mòmak (sh) m Slovak: mladík m, mládenec m Slovene: mladenič m Spanish: joven (es) m or f, adolescente (es) m or f, mozo (es) m, mancebo (es) m Swahili: kijana (sw) Swedish: yngling (sv) c, ung man c Telugu: కుర్రవాడు (te) (kurravāḍu) Tocharian B: kālyśke Ukrainian: юна́к (uk) m (junák), па́рубок (uk) m (párubok), хло́пець (uk) m (xlópecʹ) Vietnamese: thanh niên (vi) (青年) Welsh: llanc m Wolof: ndaw (wo) Yiddish: יונגער־מאַן‎ m (yunger-man), בחור‎ m (bokher) Yámana: wanleiwa

young persons, collectively

Arabic: شباب‎ m pl (šabāb) Egyptian Arabic: شباب‎ m pl (šabāb) Asturian: xuventú f Basque: gazteria (eu) Belarusian: маладзёж f (maladzjóž), мо́ладзь f (móladzʹ) Bulgarian: младе́ж (bg) f (mladéž) Catalan: joventut (ca) f, jovent (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 青年 (zh) (qīngnián) Cornish: yowynkneth f Czech: mládež (cs) f Dutch: jeugd (nl) f Esperanto: junaro Fijian: cauravou (fj) Finnish: nuoriso (fi), nuoret (fi) pl French: jeunesse (fr) f, les jeunes m pl Galician: xuventude (gl) f, mocidade (gl) f, mozarría f, mozos m pl, novos m pl, xente nova f Georgian: ახალგაზრდობა (ka) (axalgazrdoba) German: Jugend (de) f, Jugendliche (de) pl Greek: νεολαία (el) f (neolaía) Hebrew: נוֹעַר / נֹעַר‎ (he) m (nó'ar) Hungarian: fiatalok (hu) pl, fiatalság (hu) sg Ido: yunaro (io) Irish: óige f Italian: gioventù (it) f, i giovane m pl Japanese: 若い人たち (わかいひとたち, wakai hitotachi) Kabuverdianu: mosindadi Kazakh: жастар pl (jastar) Korean: 젊은 사람 (jeolmeun saram) Latvian: jaunatne f Macedonian: младеж m (mladež) Maori: matatahi, rangatahi Polish: młodzież (pl) f Portuguese: jovens (pt) m or f or pl Romanian: tineret (ro) n, tinerime (ro) f Russian: молодёжь (ru) f (molodjóžʹ) Scottish Gaelic: òigridh f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: о̀младина f, мла̏деж m Roman: òmladina (sh) f, mlȁdež (sh) m Slovak: mládež f Slovene: mladi m pl, mladež f Spanish: juventud (es) f Swahili: kijana (sw) Swedish: ungdom (sv) c Telugu: యువత (te) (yuvata) Thai: คนหนุ่มคนสาว, คนหนุ่มสาว Ukrainian: мо́лодіж f (mólodiž), мо́лодь f (mólodʹ), юна́цтво (uk) n (junáctvo), ю́ність (uk) f (júnistʹ) Vietnamese: thanh niên (vi) (青年), giới trẻ Wolof: ndaw (wo) Yiddish: יוגנט‎ f (yugnt)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

West Frisian: (please verify) jonkheid

References

• youth at OneLook Dictionary Search
• youth in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• youth in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Further reading

• youth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• youth on Wikiquote.Wikiquote

Anagrams

• Tuohy

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Middle English

Noun

youth

1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of youthe