# age

> English word · Noun · IPA /eɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #475

## Definitions
1. The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)
2. The state of being old; the latter part of life.
3. Any particular stage of life.
4. The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
5. Maturity; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
6. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
7. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
8. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
9. A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
10. One of the twelve divisions of a Great Year, equal to roughly 2000 years and governed by one of the zodiacal signs; a Platonic month.
11. A period of one hundred years; a century.
12. A generation.
13. A long time.
14. Lifespan, lifetime; the total time that some being is alive from birth to death (or some category of beings, on average).
15. The entitlement of the player to the left of the dealer to pass the first round in betting, and then to come in last or stay out; also, the player holding this position; the eldest hand.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu
Proto-Italic *aiwom
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ts
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts
Proto-Italic *-tāts
Proto-Italic *aiwotāts
Vulgar Latin aetās
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos
Proto-Italic *-ātos
Vulgar Latin -ātus
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Italic *-kos
Vulgar Latin -cus
Vulgar Latin -icus
Vulgar Latin -āticus
Vulgar Latin -āticum
Vulgar Latin *aetāticum
Old French eagebor.
Middle English age
English age
From Middle English age, Old French aage, eage, edage, from an assumed Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem, itself derived from aevum (“lifetime”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force”). Compare French âge. Displaced native Old English ieldu.
The verb is from Middle English agen, from the noun. Originally found mostly as a participial adjective, probably an adjective in -ed, derived from the noun, reanalyzed to create a verb; perhaps modeled on such pairs as Latin senēscō (seneō; verb) / senex (adjective) and Middle French vieillir (verb) / vieil (adjective). Also compare Old French se aagier, eogier (“become of age”).

## Easily confused with
- **as** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-as)
- **at** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-at)
- **an** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-an)
- **AM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-am)
- **AL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-al)
- **ah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ah)
- **AP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ap)
- **ai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ai)
- **aw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-aw)
- **AR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ar)
- **AU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-au)
- **AK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ak)
- **AZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-az)
- **av** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-av)
- **ay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ay)
- **ao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ao)
- **ax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-ax)
- **and** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-and)
- **are** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-are)
- **all** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/age-vs-all)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/age