age

¹

[ eyj ]

noun

1. the length of time during which a being or thing has existed; length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to:

   trees of unknown age; His age is 20 years.

2. a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity:

   the age of discretion; the age of consent; The state raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 years.

3. the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything:

   He was over age for military duty.

4. one of the periods or stages of human life:

   a person of middle age.

5. advanced years; old age:

   His eyes were dim with age.

6. a particular period of history, as distinguished from others; a historical epoch:

   the age of Pericles; the Stone Age; the age of electronic communications.

7. the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life:

   He was the most famous architect of the age.

8. a generation or a series of generations:

   ages yet unborn.

9. a great length of time:

   I haven't seen you for an age. He's been gone for ages.

10. the average life expectancy of an individual or of the individuals of a class or species:

    The age of a horse is from 25 to 30 years.

11. Psychology. the level of mental, emotional, or educational development of a person, especially a child, as determined by various tests and based on a comparison of the individual's score with the average score for persons of the same chronological age.
12. Geology.
    1. a period of the history of the earth distinguished by some special feature:

       the Ice Age.

    2. a unit of geological time, shorter than an epoch, during which the rocks comprising a stage were formed.
13. any of the successive periods in human history divided, according to Hesiod, into the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages.
14. Cards.
    1. Poker. the first player at the dealer's left. Compare edge ( def 10a ).
    2. eldest hand.

verb (used without object)

, aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

1. to grow old:

   He is aging rapidly.

2. to mature, as wine, cheese, or wood:

   a heavy port that ages slowly.

   Synonyms: develop, mellow, ripen

verb (used with object)

, aged, ag·ing or age·ing.

1. to make old; cause to grow or seem old:

   Fear aged him overnight.

2. to bring to maturity or a state fit for use:

   to age wine.

3. to store (a permanent magnet, a capacitor, or other similar device) so that its electrical or magnetic characteristics become constant.
4. to expose (a dye or dyed cloth) to steam or humid air in order to fix the dye.
5. to stabilize the electrical properties of (a device) by passing current through it.

-age

²

1. a suffix typically forming mass or abstract nouns from various parts of speech, occurring originally in loanwords from French ( voyage; courage ) and productive in English with the meanings “aggregate” ( coinage; peerage; trackage ), “process” ( coverage; breakage ), “the outcome of ” as either “the fact of ” or “the physical effect or remains of ” ( seepage; wreckage; spoilage ), “place of living or business” ( parsonage; brokerage ), “social standing or relationship” ( bondage; marriage; patronage ), and “quantity, measure, or charge” ( footage; shortage; tonnage; towage ).

A.G.E.

³

abbreviation for

1. Associate in General Education.

age

¹

/ eɪdʒ /

noun

1. the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live

   what age was he when he died?

   the age of a horse is up to thirty years

   the age of a tree

2. the period of existence of an object, material, group, etc

   the age of this table is 200 years

3. 1. a period or state of human life

      she had got beyond the giggly age

      he should know better at his age

   2. ( as modifier )

      age group

4. the latter part of life
5. 1. a period of history marked by some feature or characteristic; era
   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      the Space Age

      the Middle Ages

6. generation

   the Edwardian age

7. geology palaeontol
   1. a period of the earth's history distinguished by special characteristics

      the age of reptiles

   2. the period during which a stage of rock strata is formed; a subdivision of an epoch
8. myth any of the successive periods in the legendary history of man, which were, according to Hesiod, the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages
9. informal.
   often plural a relatively long time

   I've been waiting ages

   she was an age washing her hair

10. psychol the level in years that a person has reached in any area of development, such as mental or emotional, compared with the normal level for his chronological age See also achievement age mental age
11. age before beauty
    (often said humorously when yielding precedence) older people take precedence over younger people
12. of age
    adult and legally responsible for one's actions (usually at 18 or, formerly, 21 years)

verb

1. to grow or make old or apparently old; become or cause to become old or aged
2. to begin to seem older

   to have aged a lot in the past year

3. brewing to mature or cause to mature

-age

²

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating a collection, set, or group

   acreage

   baggage

2. indicating a process or action or the result of an action

   breakage

   haulage

   passage

3. indicating a state, condition, or relationship

   parentage

   bondage

4. indicating a house or place

   orphanage

5. indicating a charge or fee

   postage

6. indicating a rate

   mileage

   dosage

Other Words From

• inter·age adjective
• pre·age verb preaged preaging
• subage noun
• un·aging adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of age¹

First recorded in 1225–75; (for the noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French aage, eage, equivalent to aé, eé (from Latin ae(vi)tās “age, lifetime,” from aev(um) “eternity, period, time” + -itās -ity ) + -age -age; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of age²

Middle English < Old French < Latin -āticum, neuter of -āticus adj. suffix; an extension of Latin -āta -ate ¹, whose range of senses it reflects closely

Word History and Origins

Origin of age¹

C13: via Old French from Vulgar Latin aetatīcum (unattested), from Latin aetās, ultimately from aevum lifetime; compare aeon

Origin of age²

from Old French, from Late Latin -āticum, noun suffix, neuter of -āticus, adjectival suffix, from -ātus -ate ¹+ -icus -ic

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. of age, Law.
   1. being any of several ages, usually 21 or 18, at which certain legal rights, as voting or marriage, are acquired.
   2. being old enough for full legal rights and responsibilities.

More idioms and phrases containing age

see act one's age ; coon's age ; golden age ; in this day and age ; of age ; ripe old age ; under age .

Synonym Study

Age, epoch, era, period all refer to an extent of time. Age usually implies a considerable extent of time, especially one associated with a dominant personality, influence, characteristic, or institution: the age of chivalry. Epoch and era are often used interchangeably to refer to an extent of time characterized by changed conditions and new undertakings: an era ( or epoch ) of invention. epoch sometimes refers especially to the beginning of an era: the steam engine—an epoch in technology. A period may be long or short, but usually has a marked condition or feature: the glacial period; a period of expansion.

Example Sentences

Folks, welcome to “running the government like a business” in the age of mass tech-industry layoffs and tyrannical bossism, as proposed by someone who himself was not elected to govern.

From Slate

Some experts say the age and quality of the diamonds in the necklace sold on Wednesday point to a match with the originals.

From BBC

The last queen of France was guillotined in 1793 at the age of 37, along with her husband at the height of the French Revolution.

From BBC

Mr Carrick had previously appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video link, where he spoke only to confirm his name and age and no pleas were entered.

From BBC

I want to recall what’s been washed away by the pull of adulthood, what age and responsibility demand that we compromise, that we let go of.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• century
• date
• day
• era
• generation
• life
• millennium