Etymograph

English

juvenile

Juvenile comes from Latin iuvenīlis ‘youthful’, from iuvenis ‘young’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- ‘vital force, life, age, eternity’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ey-1‘vital force, life, age, eternity’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂óyu1‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwHō1‘young’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*juwō1‘young’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvenis2‘young’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvenīlis2‘youthful’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1659juvenile2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin iuvenis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English juvenile
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1659, John Gauden, Sighs: “Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ey-Wiktionary, Latin iuvenis‘vital force, life, age, eternity’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂óyuWiktionary, Latin iuvenis‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwHōWiktionary, Latin iuvenis‘young’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*juwōWiktionary, Latin iuvenis‘young’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvenisWiktionary, English juvenile‘young’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvenīlisWiktionary, English juvenile‘youthful’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1659juvenileWiktionary, English juvenile. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1659, John Gauden, Sighs: “Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters,…”

The story

Iuvenis is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yuh₁en- (‘young’), from *h₂óyu (‘long life; lifetime’) (from *h₂ey- (‘age; life’)) + *h₁én (‘in’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- ‘vital force, life, age, eternity’

early, young, era, diet, ere, enigma, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu ‘long time, lifetime’

yet, age, longevity, 8 more

through Latin iuvenis ‘young’

junior, 1 more

Today it means

adj Young; not fully developed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “juvenile”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin iuvenis. 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 *h₂ey- / juvenile

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