pre-ˈteen, a. orig. U.S.
[f. pre- B. 2 + teen n.2]
Prior to one's teens; denoting the years of a child's life (usu. immediately) before the age of thirteen. Also absol. as n. Hence pre-ˈteenager, preˈteener, a child (just) before the age of thirteen.
| 1960 V. Packard Waste Makers vii. 76 Even pre-teen boys' shoes were slated for obsoleting. They were being designed away from their ‘sexless’ look to a real ‘nervous’ look of flashy casualness. 1966 N.Y. Times 6 Jan. 33 Darlene [is] mother of two pre-teen children. 1966 Economist 10 Dec. 1144/2 One feature of nightlife on the Strip which the casual visitor is most likely to notice are the regular contingents of pre-teenagers, especially young girls of twelve and even less. 1967 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 77 The texts of many popular songs are so obviously coital that one wonders how they get on the radio and are sold openly to pre-teens. 1967 Punch 15 Mar. 377/2 Close behind the teen-age revolution, the emancipation of the pre-teens is gathering momentum... In North America the female pre-teen is already ‘a knacky, switched-on dolly’. 1969 Punch 12 Mar. 384/3 By the time that the American child has reached the age of three, he is known as a sub pre-teener. 1970 Daily Tel. 8 May 17 The tendency is for children to experiment with cigarettes from as early as eight years old, and pre-teenagers are often regular smokers. 1972 J. L. Dillard Black English vi. 260 Twelve- and thirteen-year-old boys revealed the same type of half-funny, half-pathetic misinformation about sex which practically all preteens seem to have. 1972 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. 3/5 (Advt.), Both for preteen sizes 6 to 14. 1977 Maclean's Mag. 2 May 23/3 A mini crime wave involving gangs of teen-agers and pre-teens. 1978 Church Times 25 Aug. 6/2 An imaginative collection of prayers and poems for pre-teenagers. |