childhood

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪldhʊd
• Hyphenation: child‧hood

Noun

childhood (countable and uncountable, plural childhoods)

1. (chiefly uncountable) The state of being a child.
   • 1531 March 20 (date written; Gregorian calendar), [Antonio de Guevara], “The Answere of M. Themperour, whan Faustine His Wife Demaunded the Key of His Study”, in John Bourcher knyghte Lord Barners [i.e., John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners], transl., The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and Eloquent Oratour, London: […] Thomæ Bertheleti […], published 1535, →OCLC, folio 32, verso:

     Of a ſuretie, it is a ioyfull thynge to reioyce in the chyldhode of chyldren, but it is a ryght cruel thing to ſuffre the importunities of their mothers.

   • 2013 September-October, Terrie Moffitt et al., “Lifelong Impact of Early Self-Control”, in American Scientist‎^[1], archived from the original on 31 January 2014:

     To our own surprise, our 40-year study of 1,000 children revealed that childhood self-control strongly predicts adult success, in people of high or low intelligence, in rich or poor, and does so throughout the entire population, with a step change in health, wealth, and social success at every level of self-control.

   • 2018 May 28, Claire Messud, “December’s Book Club pick: Turning Circe into a good witch”, in The New York Times Book Review‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 March 2021:

     I recall with intense pleasure my discovery in childhood of the Greek myths and Homer's "Iliad," in various editions, from an early acquaintance with d'Aulaire’s to Roger Lancelyn Green's versions and, at the French school I attended for several years, a collection memorably entitled "Mythes et Légendes du Monde Grecque et Barbare."

3. The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood.

4. (by extension) The early stages of development of something.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

     the childhood of our joy

Derived terms

• childhood autism
• childhood disintegrative disorder
• childhood friend
• childhoodless
• childhoodlike
• early childhood
• early childhood education
• midchildhood
• middle childhood
• prechildhood
• second childhood
• surgically induced childhood

Translations

state of being a child

• Aghwan: 𐕘𐔰𐕙𐔴𐕒𐕡𐕎 (ġareun)
• Albanian: fëmijëri (sq) f, vogëli (sq) f
• Altai:

  Southern Altai: бала тужы (bala tužï), бала туш (bala tuš), јаш (ǰaš)

• Arabic: طُفُولَة (ar) f (ṭufūla)
• Assamese: ল’ৰালি (lörali), শৈশৱ (xoixob)
• Belarusian: дзяці́нства n (dzjacínstva)
• Bengali: শৈশব (bn) (śōiśob)
• Bhojpuri: बचपन (bacᵊpan)
• Bulgarian: де́тство (bg) n (détstvo)
• Burmese: သူငယ်ဘဝ (su-ngaibha.wa.)
• Catalan: infància (ca) f, infantesa (ca)
• Chichewa: ubwana
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 童年 (tung⁴ nin⁴), 幼年 (jau³ nin⁴)

  Mandarin: 童年 (zh) (tóngnián), 幼年 (zh) (yòunián), 兒童期 / 儿童期 (zh) (értóngqī)

• Crimean Tatar: balalıq
• Czech: dětství (cs) n
• Danish: barndom (da) c
• Egyptian: (ẖrdw), (nḫnt), (nḫnw)
• Esperanto: infaneco
• Faroese: barndómur m
• Finnish: lapseus
• French: enfance (fr) f
• Galician: infancia (gl) f, nenez (gl) f
• Georgian: ბავშვობა (bavšvoba)
• German: Kindheit (de) f, Kindschaft f
• Greek: παιδική ηλικία f (paidikí ilikía)
• Gujarati: બચપણ n (bacpaṇ), બાળપણ n (bāḷpaṇ), નાનપણ n (nānpaṇ), બચગી f (bacgī)
• Hebrew: יַלְדוּת (he) f (yaldút)
• Hindi: बचपन (hi) m (bacpan), बालपन (hi) m (bālpan), बालअवस्था f (bālaavasthā)
• Hungarian: gyermekkor (hu)
• Icelandic: barnæska (is) f
• Italian: infanzia (it) f
• Japanese: 小児期 (しょうにき, shōniki), 幼年 (ja) (ようねん, yōnen)
• Kalmyk: бичкндк цагнь (biçkndk tsagnʹ)
• Kazakh: балалық (balalıq)
• Korean: 어린이성 (eoriniseong), 어린 시절 (eorin sijeol), 유년(幼年) (ko) (yunyeon)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: مناڵی (mnallî)

• Latin: pueritia f
• Latvian: bērnība f
• Lithuanian: vaikystė f
• Luxembourgish: Kandheet f, Kannerzäit f
• Macedonian: детство n (detstvo), детинство n (detinstvo)
• Maltese: tfulija f
• Māori: whanaketanga
• Marathi: लहानपण n (lahānpaṇ), बालपण n (bālpaṇ), बाल्य n (bālya)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: бага нас (baga nas)

  Mongolian script: ᠪᠠᠭ᠎ᠠ
  ᠨᠠᠰᠤ (baɣ-a nasu)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: barndom (no) m

  Nynorsk: barndom m

• Old English: ċildhād m
• Pali: bālya n
• Pannonian Rusyn: дзецинство n (dzecinstvo)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: بَچِگی (bačegi), کودَکی (kudaki)

• Polish: dzieciństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: infância (pt) f
• Romanian: copilărie (ro) f
• Russian: де́тство (ru) n (détstvo)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: mánnávuohta

• Sanskrit: अपत्यता (sa) f (apatyatā), बाल्य (sa) n (bālya)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дѐтӣњство n, дјѐтӣњство n, ђѐтӣњство n (Montenegrin)

  Latin: dètīnjstvo (sh) n, djètīnjstvo (sh), đètīnjstvo n (Montenegrin)

• Slovak: detstvo n
• Slovene: otroštvo (sl) n, detinstvo n
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian: dźěćatstwo (hsb) n

• Swahili: uana, utoto (sw)
• Swedish: barndom (sv) c
• Tagalog: pagkabata
• Tajik: бачагӣ (bačagi), кӯдакӣ (küdaki)
• Telugu: బాల్యం (te) (bālyaṁ)
• Thai: วัยเด็ก (th) (wai-dèk)
• Turkish: çocukluk (tr)
• Udmurt: покчилык (pokćilyk), пичилык (pićilyk)
• Ukrainian: дити́нство (uk) n (dytýnstvo)
• Urdu: بَچْپَن m (bacpan)
• Volapük: cilüp (vo)
• Welsh: plentyndod m
• Zulu: ubungane class 14, ubuntwana class 14

time when one is a child — see also infancy

• Albanian: foshnjëri (sq) f, fëmijëri (sq) f
• Arabic: طُفُولَة (ar) f (ṭufūla)
• Armenian: մանկություն (hy) (mankutʻyun)
• Assamese: ল’ৰালিকাল (löralikal), শৈশৱকাল (xoixobkal), বাল্যকাল (baillokal)
• Azerbaijani: uşaqlıq, uşaq vaxtı
• Bashkir: бала саҡ (bala saq)
• Basque: haurtzaro
• Belarusian: дзяці́нства n (dzjacínstva)
• Bengali: শৈশব (bn) (śōiśob), ছোটবেলা (chōṭobela), ছেলেবেলা (bn) (chelebela)
• Bulgarian: де́тство (bg) n (détstvo)
• Catalan: infància (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 童年 (tung⁴ nin⁴), 幼年 (jau³ nin⁴)

  Mandarin: 童年 (zh) (tóngnián), 幼年 (zh) (yòunián), 兒童期 / 儿童期 (zh) (értóngqī), 齠年 / 龆年 (zh) (tiáonián) (literary)

• Crimean Tatar: balalıq
• Czech: dětství (cs) n
• Danish: barndom (da) c, barndomstid c
• Dutch: kinderjaren (nl) n, kindertijd (nl) m
• Esperanto: infanaĝo
• Estonian: lapsepõlv, lapseiga (et)
• Faroese: barndómur m, barnaár n pl, óvitaár n pl
• Finnish: lapsuus (fi)
• French: enfance (fr) f
• Georgian: ბავშვობა (bavšvoba)
• German: Kindheit (de) f, Kinderzeit (de) f

  East Central German: Kindhaat (Erzgebirgisch)

• Greek: παιδική ηλικία f (paidikí ilikía)
• Hebrew: יַלְדוּת (he) f (yaldút)
• Hindi: बचपन (hi) m (bacpan), बालपन (hi) m (bālpan)
• Hungarian: gyermekkor (hu)
• Icelandic: barnæska (is) f
• Italian: infanzia (it) f
• Japanese: 子供時代 (kodomo jidai), 幼年時代 (ようねんじだい, yōnen jidai)
• Kazakh: балалық шақ (balalıq šaq), балалық (balalıq)
• Khmer: កុមារភាព (km) (komaaphiəp), តំណូច (km) (tɑmnouc)
• Korean: 유년 시대 (yunyeon sidae), 어린 시절 (eorin sijeol)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: مناڵی (mnallî)

  Northern Kurdish: zarokî (ku), zarotî (ku)

• Kyrgyz: балалык (ky) (balalık), балалык чак (balalık cak)
• Ladino: chikez f
• Lao: ໄວເດັກ (wai dek)
• Latvian: bērnība f
• Lithuanian: vaikystė f
• Luxembourgish: Kandheet f, Kannerzäit f
• Macedonian: детство n (detstvo), детинство n (detinstvo)
• Malayalam: കുട്ടിക്കാലം (ml) (kuṭṭikkālaṁ)
• Maltese: tfulija f
• Māori: whanaketanga, hokoitinga
• Marathi: लहानपण n (lahānpaṇ), बालपण n (bālpaṇ), बाल्य n (bālya)
• Middle English: childhode
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: barndom (no) m, barndomstid m or f

  Nynorsk: barndom m, barndomstid f

• Old Norse: barnǿska f
• Pannonian Rusyn: дзецинство n (dzecinstvo)
• Pashto: ماشومتوب m (māšumtób), طفلي f (teflí), طفوليت m (tofulyát)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: بَچِگی (bačegi), کودَکی (kudaki)

• Polish: dzieciństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: infância (pt) f
• Romanian: copilărie (ro) f
• Russian: де́тство (ru) n (détstvo), о́трочество (ru) n (ótročestvo) (adolescence)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: mánnávuohta

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дѐтӣњство n, дјѐтӣњство n, ђѐтӣњство n (Montenegrin)

  Latin: dètīnjstvo (sh) n, djètīnjstvo (sh), đètīnjstvo n (Montenegrin)

• Slovak: detstvo n
• Slovene: otroštvo (sl) n, detinstvo n
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian: dźěćatstwo (hsb) n

• Spanish: niñez (es) f, puericia f
• Swahili: utoto (sw)
• Swedish: barndom (sv) c
• Tajik: бачагӣ (bačagi), кӯдакӣ (küdaki)
• Telugu: బాల్యం (te) (bālyaṁ)
• Thai: วัยเด็ก (th) (wai-dèk)
• Turkish: çocukluk (tr)
• Turkmen: çagalyk, oğlanlyk
• Ukrainian: дити́нство (uk) n (dytýnstvo)
• Urdu: بَچْپَن m (bacpan)
• Uzbek: bolalik (uz)
• Vietnamese: tuổi thơ (vi)
• Volapük: cilüp (vo)
• Welsh: plentyndod m
• Yiddish: קינדשאַפֿט f (kindshaft), קינדעריאָרן n pl (kinderyorn)
• Zazaki: domaniye f
• Zulu: ubungane class 14, ubuntwana class 14

early stages of development of something

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 初時 / 初时 (co¹ si⁴), 開頭 / 开头 (hoi¹ tau⁴), 初段 (co¹ dyun⁶), 初頭 / 初头 (co¹ tau⁴), 開初 / 开初 (hoi¹ co¹), 早期 (zou² kei⁴)

  Mandarin: 初期 (zh) (chūqī), 起步階段 / 起步阶段 (qǐbù jiēduàn)

• Finnish: lapsuus (fi)
• German: Kindheit (de) f, Anfangszeit (de) f, Frühzeit (de) f, Jugend (de) f, Kinderzeit (de) f
• Greek: πρώτα στάδια n (próta stádia), παιδική ηλικία f (paidikí ilikía)
• Hindi: आरंभिक (hi) (ārambhik)
• Hungarian: gyerekcipőben jár, kezdeti szakasz, korai szakasz
• Japanese: 初期 (ja) (しょき, shoki)
• Korean: 초기(初期) (ko) (chogi)
• Latvian: bērnība f
• Macedonian: детство n (detstvo)
• Portuguese: infância (pt) f
• Russian: де́тство (ru) n (détstvo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дѐтӣњство n, дјѐтӣњство n, ђѐтӣњство n (Montenegrin)

  Latin: dètīnjstvo (sh) n, djètīnjstvo (sh), đètīnjstvo n (Montenegrin)

See also

• childhood on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Middle English

Noun

childhood

1. alternative form of childhode