# childhood

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/ · frequency rank #2,931

## Definitions
1. The state of being a child.
2. The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty.
3. The early stages of development of something.

## Etymology
From Middle English childhode, childhod, from Old English ċildhād (“childhood”). By surface analysis, child + -hood. Compare dialectal Dutch kindheid (“childishness”), German Low German Kinnerheid (“childhood”), and German Kindheit (“childhood”).

## Common misspellings (14)
`cchildhood`, `chhildhood`, `chidlhood`, `childdhood`, `childhhood`, `childhod`, `childhodo`, `childhoodd`, `childohod`, `chilhdood`, `chilldhood`, `chlidhood`, `cihldhood`, `hcildhood`

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