Etymograph

English

adult

Adult comes from Latin adultus ‘grown up’, from adolescō ‘to grow up’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘to grow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂oléyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oleō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*oleō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEolēscō1‘to grow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadolescō2‘to grow up’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadultus2‘grown up’perfect passive participle of adolescō
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentadulte2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837adult2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin adolesco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English adult
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Michael Donovan, Domestic Economy: Human Food: “The paws of the adult brown bear, and also…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Latin adolesco‘to grow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂oléyetiWiktionary, Latin adolescoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oleōWiktionary, Latin adolescoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*oleōWiktionary, Latin adolescoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEolēscōWiktionary, Latin adolesco‘to grow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadolescōWiktionary, English adult‘to grow up’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadultusWiktionary, English adult‘grown up’perfect passive participle of adolescō
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentadulteWiktionary, English adult
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837adultWiktionary, English adult. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Michael Donovan, Domestic Economy: Human Food: “The paws of the adult brown bear, and also…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

as, all, old, else, el, element, alien, ultimate, elder, ellen, alternate, alumni, qualification, outrage, ou, alter, altitude, ultra, alpine, altar, abolish, alias, alt, adolescent, alum, alto, alibi, retaliate, alimony, alp, proletariat, parallax, altruism, coalesce, auld, foetal, ulterior, eld, exalt, althea, 66 more

through Latin *oleō

abolition, redolent, 1 more

Today it means

noun An animal that is full-grown.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adult”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin adolesco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / adult

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