Age

Pronunciation

• IPA: /eɪdÊ’/
• Rhymes: -eɪdÊ’

Origin

From Middle English age, from Anglo-Norman age, from Old French aage, eage (Modern French âge), from assumed unattested Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, from Latin aetātem, accusative form of aetās, from aevum ("lifetime"). Displaced native Middle English elde ("age") (modern eld; from Old English eldo, ieldo ("age")).

Full definition of age

Noun

1. The whole duration of a being, whether animal, vegetable, or other kind; lifetime.
2. (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?
3. (uncountable) The latter part of life; an advanced period of life, eld; seniority; state of being old.
   Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, sometimes age just shows up all by itself.
4. (countable) One of the stages of life; as, the age of infancy, of youth, etc.
• 2013-07-19, Peter Wilby, Finland spreads word on schools, 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.
5. (uncountable) Mature age; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
   to come of age;  he (or she) is of age
6. (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
7. (countable) A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
• 2013-08-03, Yesterday’s fuel, 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.
8. the golden age;  the age of Pericles
9. (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
10. (countable) A century; the period of one hundred years.
11. The people who live at a particular period.
12. (countable) A generation.
    There are three ages living in her house.
13. (countable, hyperbole) A long time.
    It's been an age since we last saw you.

Synonyms

• (latter part of life) dotage, old age, eld

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
   Grief ages us.
2. (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.
3. (transitive, accounting) To categorize by age.
   One his first assignments was to age the accounts receivable.
4. (intransitive) To grow aged; to become old; to show marks of age.
• HollandThey live one hundred and thirty years, and never age for all that.
• LandorI am aging; that is, I have a whitish, or rather a light-coloured, hair here and there.
• 2013, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, Stents to Prevent Stroke, 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.
5. He grew fat as he aged.

Anagrams

• EGA
• G. E. A.