Etymograph

English

youth

Youth comes from Old English ġeoguþ ‘the state of being young’, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþiz ‘youth’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō ‘young’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwHō1‘young’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jugunþiz1‘the state of being young’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jugunþi1‘youth’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġeoguþ1‘the state of being young’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500youthe1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1910youth1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English youth
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price: “Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwHōWiktionary, English youth‘young’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jugunþizWiktionary, English youth‘the state of being young’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jugunþiWiktionary, English youth‘youth’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġeoguþWiktionary, English youth‘the state of being young’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500youtheWiktionary, English youth
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1910youthWiktionary, English youth. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price: “Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear…”

Explore everything descended from *h₂yéwHō →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun The quality or state of being young.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “youth”. 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 *h₂yéwHō / youth