age

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See also: Age, AGE, Agë, Agę, âge, âgé, äge, Åge, and -age

English[edit]

 age on Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English age, Old French aage, eage, edage, from an assumed Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem, itself derived from aevum (“lifetime”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force”). Compare French âge.

Displaced native Old English ieldu.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /eɪd͡ʒ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪdʒ

Noun[edit]

age (countable and uncountable, plural ages)

  1. (countable) The whole duration of a being, whether human, animal, plant, or other kind, being alive.
  2. (countable) The number of full years, months, days, hours, etc., that someone, or something, has been alive.
    • 2013 July 1, Peter Wilby, “Finland’s education ambassador spreads the word”, in The Guardian‎[1], London, archived from the original on 16 July 2017; republished as “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, London, 19 July 2013, page 30:
      Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
  3. (countable) One of the stages of life.
    the age of infancy
  4. (countable) The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
    the age of consent; the age of discretion
  5. (countable) A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
    the golden age; the age of Pericles
    • 1970, Jim Theis, “The Eye of Argon”, in OSFAN‎[2], volume 10, Chapter 3½, page 33:
      Encircling the marble altar was a congregation of leering shamen. Eerie chants of a bygone age, originating unknown eons before the memory of man, were being uttered from the buried recesses of the acolytes' deep lings [sic].
    • 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel: The world’s thirst for oil could be nearing a peak. That is bad news for producers, excellent for everyone else.”, in The Economist‎[3], volume 408, number 8847, archived from the original on 1 August 2013:
      The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices). It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber.
  6. (countable) A great period in the history of the Earth.
    the Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age; the Tithonian Age was the last in the Late Jurassic epoch
  7. (astrology) One of the twelve divisions of a Great Year, equal to roughly 2000 years and goverened by one of the zodiacal signs; a Platonic month.
    • 1911 April 10, The Evening News, Sydney, page 8, column 2:
      Mr Lewis says we are living in the age of Aquarius, which means that the world is at present passing through the zodiacal sign of Aquarius, the airy constellation.
  8. (countable) A period of one hundred years; a century.
  9. (countable) The people who live during a particular period.
  10. (countable) A generation.
    There are three ages living in her house.
  11. (countable, hyperbolic) A long time.
    It’s been an age since we last saw you.
  13. (countable, geology) The shortest geochronologic unit, being a period of thousands to millions of years; a subdivision of an epoch (or sometimes a subepoch).
  14. (countable, poker) The right of the player to the left of the dealer to pass the first round in betting, and then to come in last or stay out; also, the player holding this position; the eldest hand.
  15. (uncountable) That part of the duration of a being or a thing which is between its beginning and any given time; specifically the size of that part.
    What is the present age of a man, or of the earth?
  16. (uncountable) Mature age; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
    to come of age; she is now of age
  17. (uncountable) An advanced period of life; the latter part of life; the state of being old, old age, senility; seniority.
    • 1936 Feb. 15, Ernest Hemingway, letter to Maxwell Perkins:
      Feel awfully about Scott... It was a terrible thing for him to love youth so much that he jumped straight from youth to senility without going through manhood. The minute he felt youth going he was frightened again and thought there was nothing between youth and age.
    Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, sometimes age just shows up all by itself.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from age (noun)

Translations[edit]

century — see century
generation — See also translations at generation
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb[edit]

age (third-person singular simple present ages, present participle ageing or (US) aging, simple past and past participle aged)

  1. (intransitive) To grow aged; to become old; to show marks of age.
    • 1824, Walter Savage Landor, Imaginary Conversations:
      I am aging; that is, I have a whitish, or rather a light-coloured, hair here and there. Sober thinking brings them
    • 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
      As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.
    He grew fat as he aged.
  2. (intransitive, informal, of a statement, prediction) To be viewed or turn out in some way after a certain time has passed.
    His prediction that we didn't stand a chance hasn't aged well, now that we've won the cup.
  3. (transitive) To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
    Grief ages us.
  4. (transitive, figuratively) To postpone an action that would extinguish something, as a debt.
    Money's a little tight right now, let's age our bills for a week or so.
  5. (transitive, accounting) To categorize by age.
    One his first assignments was to age the accounts receivable.
  6. (transitive) To indicate that a person has been alive for a certain period of time, especially a long one.
    • 1992 June 14, This Week with David Brinkley, ABC, spoken by [James?] Carville:
      Mr. [David] Brinkley started out with network news. We got our news- I think it was the Huntley-Brinkley Report. I'm probably aging myself now, okay?
    • 1998 Fall, Mare Freed, “Aluhana”, in The Antioch Review, volume 56, number 4:
      To look at the hair by itself you'd say it was actually quite pretty, but on her head the gray sure ages her.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse aka (“to drive”), from Proto-Germanic *akaną, cognate with Swedish åka. The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, which is also the source of Latin agō (whence also Danish agere), Ancient Greek ἄγω (ágō).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

age (past tense agede, past participle aget)

  1. (intransitive, dated) to drive (in a vehicle)
  2. (transitive, obsolete) to drive (a vehicle), transport

Conjugation[edit]

Inflection of age
present past
simple ager agede
perfect har or er aget havde or var aget
passive ages agedes
participle agende aget
imperative ag —
infinitive age —
auxiliary verb have or være —
gerund agen —

Further reading[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ca. 1800, from a dialectal (southern Oïl or Franco-Provençal) form of haie, from Frankish *haggju. Cognate with English hedge, which see for more.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

age m (plural ages)

  1. beam (central bar of a plough)
  2. shaft

Further reading[edit]

Irish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

age

  1. Munster form of ag (used before a possessive determiner)
    • 1939, Peig Sayers, “Inghean an Cheannaidhe”, printed in Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry, Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études 270. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, p. 193:
      Ní raibh aoinne cloinne age n-a muinntir ach í agus do mhéaduigh sin uirrim agus grádh na ndaoine don inghean óg so.
      Her parents had no children but her, and that increased the esteem and love of the people for this young girl.

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

age

  1. Rōmaji transcription of あげ

Kott[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔaqV (“to make sour, to rot”). Compare Assan bar-ak (“rotten”) and Arin bar-oje (“rotten”).

Adjective[edit]

age

  1. rotten

Related terms[edit]

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Imperative form of agō

Interjection[edit]

age

  1. well now, well then, come now (transition)
  2. very well, good, right (sign of affirmation)

Verb[edit]

age

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of agō

Mapudungun[edit]

Noun[edit]

age (Raguileo spelling)

  1. (anatomy) face

References[edit]

  • Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Old French aage, from Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

age (plural ages)

  1. The age of someone (or rarely something); how old someone is.
  2. The correct or traditional age for something (especially the age of maturity)
  3. Old age or senescence; the state of being old or elderly.
  4. The life of something or someone; an extent of existence.
  5. A period or portion of time; an age, epoch, or era.
  6. Time (as an abstract concept); the passing of time.
  7. (rare, in every age) A person or individual who is a particular age.
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • English: age
  • Scots: age
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

age

  1. Alternative form of awe

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /²ɑː.jə/, /²ɑː.ɡə/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz. Cognates include English awe.

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

age m (definite singular agen, indefinite plural agar, definite plural agane)

  1. awe
  2. deference
  3. esteem, reverence

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse aga.

Alternative forms[edit]

Verb[edit]

age (present tense agar, past tense aga, past participle aga, passive infinitive agast, present participle agande, imperative age/ag)

  1. to chastise, subdue
  2. to impress
  3. to agitate
  4. to scare

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Old Frisian[edit]

Ēn āge.

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *augā, from Proto-Germanic *augô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“eye, to see”). Cognates include Old English ēage, Old Saxon ōga and Old Dutch ōga.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

āge n

  1. (anatomy) eye

Inflection[edit]

Declension of āge

(neuter n-stem)

singular plural
nominative āge āgene, āgne
genitive āga āgana, āgena
dative āga āgum, āgem
āgenum, āgenem
accusative āge āgene, āgne

Descendants[edit]

  • North Frisian:
    Most dialects: uug
    Goesharde: uug, uuch
    Halligen: uuch
    Heligoland: Oog
    Sylt: Oog
  • Saterland Frisian: Oge
  • West Frisian: each

References[edit]

  • Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Portuguese[edit]

Verb[edit]

age

  1. inflection of agir:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English age, from Old French aage, eage, from Vulgar Latin *aetāticum.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

age (plural ages)

  1. age

Verb[edit]

age (third-person singular simple present ages, present participle agin, simple past aged, past participle aged)

  1. to age

References[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

age

  1. inflection of agir:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Ternate[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

age

  1. the trunk of a tree, tree trunk
  2. levee, embankment

References[edit]

  • Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Yoruba[edit]

Àgé

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

àgé

  1. kettle
    Synonym: kẹ́tùrù
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