childhood

child-hood · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    The period of time when a person is a child, from birth to puberty.

  2. 2.

    The state or condition of being a child.

Forms

plural: childhoods

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    childhood friend — a friend from one's early years
  • •
    childhood memories — recollections from when one was young
  • •
    second childhood — a return to childlike behavior, especially in old age
  • •
    since childhood — from when one was young
  • •
    early childhood — the period from birth to about age 8

Related words

Antonyms: adulthood, maturity, old age
See also: adolescence, child, children, youth
Synonyms: boyhood/girlhood, early years, infancy, youth

Etymology

From Old English cildhād, from cild ("child") + -hād (suffix forming nouns denoting state or condition, equivalent to modern -hood).