adolescent

Where does the word "adolescent" come from? It comes from Latin adolescens, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Adolescent’s story begins in Latin: adolescens meant “growing up.” Present participle of 'adolescere', to grow up. It reached English by 1400s as adolescent. First recorded around 1440 in an English verse translation of Palladius's Latin farming manual; 'adult' comes from the past participle of the same verb. Today, adolescent means a young person developing into an adult.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient adolescens "growing up", present participle of 'adolescere', to grow up.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s adolescent "youth", first recorded around 1440 in an English verse translation of Palladius's Latin farming manual; 'adult' comes from the past participle of the same verb.