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Childhood

//ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd// noun

Definitions

Noun

1
The state of being a child. uncountable
"To our own surprise, our 40-year study of 1,000 children revealed that childhood self-control strongly predicts adult success, in people of high or low intelligence, in rich or poor, and does so throughout the entire population, with a step change in health, wealth, and social success at every level of self-control."
2
the state of a child between infancy and adolescence wordnet
3
The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty. countable, uncountable
"He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood."
4
the time of person's life when they are a child wordnet
5
The early stages of development of something. broadly, countable, uncountable
"the childhood of our joy"

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”).

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