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Added 9 October 2026

childhood

/ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/ noun

In Latin: pueritia Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about childhood at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The state of being a child.
The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty.
The early stages of development of something.

Origin

From Middle English childhode, childhod, from Old English ċildhād (“childhood”). By surface analysis, child + -hood. Compare dialectal Dutch kindheid (“childishness”), German Low German Kinnerheid (“childhood”), and German Kindheit (“childhood”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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