EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

juvenile

relating to young people

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "juvenile" come from? It comes from Latin juvenilis, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "juvenile" come from? It comes from Latin juvenilis, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).

Juvenile’s story begins in Latin: juvenilis meant “youthful.” From 'juvenis', young. It reached English by 1620s as juvenile. 'juvenile delinquent' dates from the 1810s. Today, juvenile means relating to young people.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient juvenilis "youthful", from 'juvenis', young.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1620s juvenile "youthful", 'juvenile delinquent' dates from the 1810s.

Browse by origin