Added 1 October 2026
child
/tʃaɪld/ noun
In Latin: filius, filia Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about child at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
Go easy on him: he is but a child.
- A youth aged 1 to 9 years, whereas neonates are aged 0 to 1 month, infants are aged 1 to 12 months, and adolescents are aged 10 to 20 years.
-
One's direct descendant by birth, regardless of age; one's offspring; a son or daughter.
My youngest child is forty-three this year.
verb
Origin
From Middle English child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Danish kuld (“brood, litter”), Swedish kull (“brood, litter”), Icelandic kelta, kjalta (“lap”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (kilþei, “womb”), Sanskrit जर्त (jarta), जर्तु (jártu, “vulva”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)