juvenile

Etymology

A juvenile (noun sense 2) – a young Aka girl – from the Central African Republic

From Latin iuvenīlis (“youthful; juvenile”), from iuvenis (“young; a youth”) + -īlis (“suffix forming adjectives indicating a relationship or a pertaining to”). Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (“young”), from *h₂óyu (“long life; lifetime”) (from *h₂ey- (“age; life”)) + *h₁én (“in”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒuːvənaɪl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒuːvənəl/
• Hyphenation: ju‧ven‧ile

Adjective

juvenile (comparative more juvenile, superlative most juvenile)

1. Young; not fully developed.
2. Characteristic of youth or immaturity; childish.

Noun

Three 16-year-old male juveniles (sense 2)

American actress Maude Adams (1872–1953) playing the juvenile role (sense 5) of Peter Pan on Broadway

A kitten is a feline juvenile (sense 6)

juvenile (plural juveniles)

1. A prepubescent child.
2. A person younger than the age of majority; a minor.
3. (criminal law) A person younger than the age of full criminal responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment.
4. (literature) A publication for young adult readers.
   • 1958, The Author and Journalist, volume 42–43, Denver, Colo.: H. Ellithrope, OCLC 8701031, page lxxxiv, column 1:

     Formerly a publisher of juveniles, out of the market till 1959, when it will enter adult fiction field.

5. (theater) An actor playing a child's role.
6. (zoology) A sexually immature animal.

Further reading

• juvenile (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Adjective

juvenīle

1. nominative neuter singular of juvenīlis
2. accusative neuter singular of juvenīlis
3. vocative neuter singular of juvenīlis