infancia

See also: infància and infância

Middle English

Noun

infancia

1. alternative form of infancie

Portuguese

Noun

infancia f (plural infancias)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of infância

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Italic *n̥-

Latin in-

Latin fāns

Latin īnfāns

Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-ijos

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -ius

Latin -ia

Latin īnfāntiabor.

Spanish infancia

Borrowed from Latin īnfāntia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˈfanθja/ [ĩɱˈfãn̟.θja] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /inˈfansja/ [ĩɱˈfãn.sja] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -anθja (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• Rhymes: -ansja (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: in‧fan‧cia

Noun

infancia f (plural infancias)

1. childhood (period of human development from birth until puberty)

   Synonym: niñez

   Pienso que la tranquilidad y seguridad que disfruté en mi infancia contribuyó a la formación de mi carácter.

   I think that the tranquility and security which I enjoyed in my childhood contributed to the formation of my character.

2. (figurative) infancy

   Esta tecnología está en su infancia.

   This technology is in its infancy.

Derived terms

• jardín de infancia

Further reading

• “infancia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025