pubescent

English

Etymology

From Latin pubescens (“to become hairy, downy, or an adult”)

Adjective

pubescent (comparative more pubescent, superlative most pubescent)

1. Arriving, or arrived at, puberty.
   • 2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xi

     […] the pubescent male brain isn't noted for its consistent engagement with reality […]

   • 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, The Onion AV Club:

     The 18-year-old Bieber can’t quite pull off the “adult” thing just yet: His voice may have dropped a bit since the days of “Baby,” but it still mostly registers as “angelic,” and veers toward a pubescent whine at times.

2. (botany, zoology) Covered with down or fine hairs.

Derived terms

• peripubescent
• postpubescent
• prepubescent

Related terms

• puberty, pubescence

Translations

arriving at puberty

• German: geschlechtsreif
• Greek: έφηβος (el) (éfivos) m

• Spanish: pubescente (es)

See also

• puberulent

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Latin

Verb

pūbēscent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of pūbēscō