# infancy

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɪnfənsi/ · frequency rank #17,641

## Definitions
1. The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).
2. The state of being an infant.
3. An early stage in the development of anything.
4. The state of being a minor.

## Etymology
From Middle English infancie, from Latin īnfantia (“infancy, early childhood; childishness”), equivalent to infant + -cy.

## Easily confused with
- **infant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/infancy-vs-infant)
- **infants** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/infancy-vs-infants)
- **infantry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/infancy-vs-infantry)
- **infamy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/infamy-vs-infancy)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ifnancy`, `inafncy`, `infacny`, `infanccy`, `infancyy`, `infanncy`, `infanyc`, `inffancy`, `infnacy`, `innfancy`, `nifancy`

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