Etymology Map
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Age

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means the length of time something has existed; a historical period

Where does the word "age" come from? It comes from Latin aetas, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
aetas
Latin · ancient
"lifetime, age"
contracted from older 'aevitas', from 'aevum', eternity, the root of 'eternal'
2
Stage 2 of 3
eage
Old French · medieval
"age"
formed with the suffix -age, as in Vulgar Latin 'aetaticum'
3
Stage 3 of 3
age
English · 1200s
"period of life"
first recorded around 1275 in the Kentish Sermons, English translations of the French sermons of Maurice de Sully; 'Stone Age' and 'Bronze Age' were coined in the 1800s
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Read the full story

Age’s story begins in Latin: aetas meant “lifetime, age.” Contracted from older 'aevitas', from 'aevum', eternity, the root of 'eternal'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as eage. Formed with the suffix -age, as in Vulgar Latin 'aetaticum'. It reached English by 1200s as age. First recorded around 1275 in the Kentish Sermons, English translations of the French sermons of Maurice de Sully; 'Stone Age' and 'Bronze Age' were coined in the 1800s. Today, age means the length of time something has existed; a historical period.