age

pronunciation

How to pronounce age in British English: UK [eɪdʒ] word uk audio image

How to pronounce age in American English: US [ eɪdʒ] word us audio image

Noun:

how long something has existed
an era of history having some distinctive feature
a time in life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises
a late time of life
a prolonged period of time
Verb:

begin to seem older; get older
grow old or older
make older

Word Origin

age: age: [13] Age has undergone considerable transmutations and abbreviations since its beginnings in Latin. Its immediate source in English is Old French aage, which was the product of a hypothetical Vulgar Latin form *aetāticum (the t is preserved in Provençal atge). This was based on Latin aetāt- (stem of aetās), which was a shortening of aevitās, which in turn came from aevum ‘lifetime’.This entered English in more recognizable form in medieval, primeval, etc; it is related to Greek aión ‘age’, from which English gets aeon [17], and it can be traced back to the same root that produced (via Old Norse eí) the now archaic adverb ay(e) ‘ever’ (as in ‘will aye endure’).=> aeon, aye

age (n.): late 13c., "long but indefinite period in human history," from Old French aage (11c., Modern French âge) "age; life, lifetime, lifespan; maturity," earlier edage, from Vulgar Latin *aetaticum (source of Spanish edad, Italian eta, Portuguese idade "age"), from Latin aetatem (nominative aetas), "period of life, age, lifetime, years," from aevum "lifetime, eternity, age," from PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (see eon). Meaning "time something has lived, particular length or stage of life" is from early 14c. Used especially for "old age" since early 14c. Expelled native eld.

age (v.): "to grow old," late 14c., from age (n.). Meaning "to make old" is early 15c. Related: Aged; aging.

vi.