youth

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /juθ/ UK /juːθ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like use /θ/ vs /s/

Freq #2429

Meanings

1

noun
The period of life when someone is young.

Make the most of your youth — it will not last forever.
2

noun
Young people thought of as a group.

The festival offers many activities for the youth of the town.
3

noun
A young person, especially a young man.

There was a group of youths hanging around the parking lot.
4

noun
The quality of being young and full of energy.

Her face still has the freshness of youth.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · young people thought of as... young peopleyoungsters

3 noun · a young person, especially... teenager youngster lad

4 noun · the quality of being young... youthfulness

Word family

Forms youths

Derived forms yoofyouth-centricyouth-on-ageyouthfulyouthlyyouthwardsyouthy

Related forms young

Etymology

From Middle English youthe, youghte, ȝouþe, from Old English ġeoguþ (“the state of being young; youth”), from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz (“youth”), corresponding to young + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend.

youthe Middle English ġeoguþ Old English *juwunþa Proto-West Germanic *jugunþō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

External links

# youth

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /juθ/
**IPA (UK):** /juːθ/
**Frequency rank:** 2429

## Meanings
1. The period of life when someone is young.
2. Young people thought of as a group.
3. A young person, especially a young man.
4. The quality of being young and full of energy.

## Examples
- Make the most of your youth — it will not last forever.
- The festival offers many activities for the youth of the town.
- There was a group of youths hanging around the parking lot.
- Her face still has the freshness of youth.

## Derived Forms
- yoof
- youth-centric
- youth-on-age
- youthful
- youthly
- youthwards
- youthy

## Related Forms
- young

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: youthe
- Root: ġeoguþ
- Root: *juwunþa
- Root: *jugunþō

## Etymology
From Middle English youthe, youghte, ȝouþe, from Old English ġeoguþ (“the state of being young; youth”), from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz (“youth”), corresponding to young + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend.

## AI Etymology
Youth is from Middle English youthe, youghte, ȝouþe, from Old English ġeoguþ (“the state of being young; youth”), from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz (“youth”), corresponding to young + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend. Important historical forms include Middle English youthe, Old English ġeoguþ, Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, and Proto-Germanic *jugunþō. In present-day use, it can mean the period of life when someone is young, or young people thought of as a group.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Describing Qualities

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youth

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