youth
(juːθ)
Forms: 1 ᵹeoᵹuþ, ᵹioᵹuþ, iuᵹuð, -oð, 1–2 ᵹeoᵹoþ, iuᵹeþ, 2–3 ȝeoȝeð, ȝuheð, 3–5 ȝouþ(e, 4–5 ȝowthe, youghthe, yhouth(e, 4–6 youthe, 4–5 (6–7 Sc.) ȝouth, (7 Sc.) yowthe, 5–6 ȝouthe, ȝowth, yought(e, yougth(e, (3 ȝuweð, -wuð, -ȝeð, ȝueþ, ȝoeþ, ȝieuð, youhþ, ȝuð, 4 ȝoweþ, ȝougheþ, ȝuth, 5 ȝowith, yowith, yowuthe, ȝougeþe, ȝougthe, youþe, yuþ e, ȝouhetȝ, Sc. ȝowutht, 5–6 vthe, 6 yowght, Sc. ȝow{supt}, 7 yewth), 5– youth.
[OE. ᵹeoᵹuþ = OS. juguð (MLG., MDu. jôghet, Du. jeugd), OHG. jugund (MHG. jugent, G. jugend):—Com. W. Ger. *jugunþi-, app. an alteration on the analogy of *dugunþ- douth of *juwunþi-:—pre-Teut. *juwənti- (cf. the parallel formation in L. juventa, Goth. junda). See young and -th1.]
1. a. The fact or state of being young; youngness. (Often blending with sense 2.)
| a 1100 Aldhelm Gloss. i. 2843 (Napier 77/1) Teneritudine, iungan iuᵹeþe. c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 975 On his daᵹum for his iuᵹoðe, Godes wiþærsacan Godes laᵹe bræcon. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1462 Nim ȝeme of þi ȝuheðe. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 84 Seynge þe ȝouþe of þe childe. c 1425 Engl. Conq. Irel. (1896) 68 Other tweyn of hys bretheren, (that throgh yought & foolrede hym folwed). a 1500 Cov. Corpus Chr. Pl. ii. 751 Thogh thatt my vthe frome me be worne. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xxii. 65 They knewe well by the reason of his yought hunger opressyd hym more then it dyde to them of gretter age. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 195 By your authoritie, the people may be moved the rather to beleve the trewth, whareof many dowbtes be reassone of our yowght. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 148 Our youths, and wildenesse, shall no whit appeare, But all be buried in his Grauity. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 664 A Snake..renew'd in all the speckl'd Pride Of pompous Youth. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. 122 Their free-behaviour are generally attributed to Youth and Gaiety. 1796 Burke Let. to Hussey Dec., Corr. 1844 IV. 401 If I had youth and strength, I would go myself over to Ireland to work on that plan. 1803 Beddoes in Med. Jrnl. X. 572 He has youth on his side, and it is odds but he gets over it [sc. a disease]. |
b. fig. Newness, novelty, recentness.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 224 If that the youth of my new interest here Have power to bid you welcome. a 1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vi. iv. §13 These opinions have youth in their countenance. |
2. a. The time when one is young; the early part or period of life; more specifically, the period from puberty till the attainment of full growth, between childhood and adult age.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxi. 206 Ðære scame & ðære scande þe ðu on iuᵹuðe worhtes ic ᵹedo ðæt ðu forᵹitst. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xviii. 21 Eall þis ic heold of minre ᵹeoᵹuþe. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 On his ȝuweðe he fleh fro folke to weste. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 100 in O.E. Misc. (1872) 108 Þe mon þe on his youhþe yeorne leorneþ wit and wisdom. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10436 Alle þe ȝongest bachelers Þat..were of ȝouþe. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (verse) 14 Women..Þat leris no latyn in þar ȝouth. 1508 Dunbar Poems vii. 63 Most fortunable chiftane, bothe in yhouth and eild. 1535 Coverdale Gen. viii. 21 The ymaginacion of mans hert is euell, euen from the very youth of him [1611 from his youth]. 1749 Smollett Gil Blas iv. vii. (1816) 126/2 One of those old boys who had been great rakes in their youth. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia (1863) 11 As soon as they begin to grow up and pass from infancy to youth. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight vii. 103 In the case of any kind of optical defect, it is a great advantage to begin the use of glasses in youth. |
b. transf. and
fig. Early stage or period of existence.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. iii. 7 A Violet in the youth of Primy Nature. 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. vi. 108 As the Bough grew in the youth of the Tree. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 14 One very bad [quality]..that often ruins part of its Crop, while in their youth. 1883 Ch. Times 9 Nov. 813/2 Lutheranism..covers a smaller area to-day than it did in its early youth. |
3. A quality or condition characteristic of the young;
e.g. youthful freshness or vigour; youthful wantonness, folly, or rashness; youthful appearance or aspect.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 65 Þær is ᵹeoᵹoþ buton ylde. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 145 Þer scal beon..Ivȝeðe [v.rr. ȝeoȝeðe, ȝieuð] wið-uten elde. a 1300 E.E. Psalter cii[i]. 5 Als erne þi yhouthe be newed sal. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 263 Sche..preide hem alle..To grante Eson his ferste youthe. 1475 Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 158 Tyll..þat youkke of wedlokke ly in my nekke..youth shall rene in me as hyt has done in you afore tyme. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 244 Now is loste our beaulte and our yougthe thorughe grete synne. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxxv. 140 b/2 Though..that youthe of wytte haue made hym to defye the kynge. a 1653 Binning Serm., John i. 5 Wks. (1725) 410/2 [The sun] puts a Youth upon the World. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. 16 The Enervating of their Youth and Vigour. 1817 M. Edgeworth Ormond i, After she had purchased all of youth which age can purchase for money. 1844 Mrs. Browning Rhapsody Life's Progr. viii, Oh, the soul keeps its youth! But the body faints sore. |
4. Personified, or vaguely denoting any young person or persons (without article).
Here perhaps belongs
yougthes folke (Spenser
Sheph. Cal. May 9), which was imitated by Davison (see
youngth 1,
quot. 1602).
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 358, I sih wher lusty Youthe tho..Stod with his route wel begon. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles Prol. 69 They shall fynde ffele ffawtis ffoure score and odde, That youghthe weneth alwey þat it be witte euere. c 1400 Beryn 1052 Ȝowith is recheles. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 93 Ful of corage is ȝouȝeþe in herte. 1513 More Rich. III Wks. 39/1 Slipper youth [must be] vnderpropped with elder counsayle. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 124 We haue an olde prouerbe youth wil haue his course. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key 27 Youth enclines to Wantonness and Prodigality. 1757 Gray Bard 74 Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby iii. i, Almost everything that is great has been done by youth. |
5. Young people (or creatures) collectively; the young. (With or without
the; now always construed as plural.)
| Beowulf 66 Oð þæt seo ᵹeoᵹoð ᵹeweox. c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. Pref. 7 Eall sio ᵹioᵹuð ðe nu is on Angelcynne friora monna. c 1205 Lay. 15372, & inne æstsaxe heore aðeleste ȝuȝeðe. Ibid. 19837 Bezst alre ȝeoȝeðe þa..a þan dæȝen weore ærður ihaten. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 152 The yl and idul bryngyng vp of youth here in our cuntrey. Ibid. 156 To ouerse the educatyon of vthe. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxiii. (1888) 119 Youth from seuen till one and twenty, will abyde much exercising. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. Chorus 1 Now all the Youth of England are on fire. 1656 Harrington Oceana (1658) 204 The Elders could remember that they had been Youth. 1742 Gray Spring 25 The insect youth are on the wing. 1818 Byron Juan i. cxxv, The unexpected death of some old lady Or gentleman..Who've made ‘us youth’ wait too—too long already For an estate. 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. ii. 25 When there was peace at home, the youth sought opportunities of distinguishing..themselves in distant warfare. 1883 Century Mag. XXVI. 292/1 There was a native innocence in the New York youth of both sexes that was pleasing to our pride. |
6. a. A young person;
esp. a young man between boyhood and mature age; sometimes,
esp. in earlier use, more widely (see
quots.).
Formerly sometimes (and still in dialect or vulgar speech) pleonastically qualified by
young.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2665 Bi ðat time ðat he was ȝuð, Wið faiȝered and strengthe kuð. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 230 He lift vp þe lach and leop ouer þe lake, Þat ȝouthe. ? 1580 W. Hergest (title) The Right Rule of Christian Chastitie; profitable to bee read of all godly and vertuous Youthes of both sexe. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. i. 32 b, Accompanied with a multitude of women, young youthes and children. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 40 He that hath a beard, is more then a youth: and he that hath no beard, is lesse then a man. 1605 R. Treswell Journ. Earl Nott. 32 A youth of ten yeares of age. 1611 Bible Susanna 45 The Lord raised vp the holy spirit of a young youth, whose name was Daniel. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 95 The jocond rebecks sound To many a youth, and many a maid. 1687 [? W. Penn] Reason. Toleration 16 He ended his days a young Youth, in the 24th Year of his Age. 1711 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 263 W{supc}{suph} was in the eleventh Year of his Age, and y{supt} he was then a very hopefull Youth. 1774 tr. Chesterfield's Lett. Kal. May 1741, To-morrow..you will attain your ninth year; so that, for the future, I shall treat you as a youth. 1805 Ann. Reg., Chron. 396/2 Two youths, one 14 and the other 8 years of age, sons of a poor man. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxii, The pot-boy, the muffin youth, and the baked-potato man. 1881 19th Cent. May 780 Before she was twenty she wrote verses like other youths. |
b. (
esp. college youth.) Applied technically to societies of bellringers.
Obs. exc. Hist.| 1668 [Stedman] Tintinnalogia (1671) Ded., To the Noble Society of Colledge-Youths. 1816 Shipway Campanal. p. xix, The Society of College Youths, in the summer of 1657, on a visit to Cambridge, were presented by Mr. Stedman with his peculiar production on five bells. 1855 T. Bailey Ann. Notts. IV. 29 The bells at St. Peter's church re-cast this year;..The following are the inscriptions upon them: First, or Treble.—‘I was given by the Society of Northern Youths, in 1672, and recast by the Sherwood Youths, in 1771.’ |
7. attrib. and
Comb., as
youth cult,
youth culture,
youth-day,
youth-group,
youth movement,
youth organization,
youth-slip,
youth-state,
youth-tide,
youth-time;
youth-bold,
youth-consuming adjs.;
youth-bereft,
youth-charmed,
youth-oriented ppl. adjs;
Youth Aliyah [
Heb. ăliyah ascent], a movement begun in 1933 for the emigration of young Jews to Palestine;
youth and old age = zinnia;
youth camp, one of the camps of various kinds that were established for young people in Germany under the Nazis;
youth centre, a building providing social and recreational facilities for young people;
youth club, a social club provided for the spare-time activities of young people; the premises of such a club;
Youth Employment Service, an advisory service for school leavers set up in 1948 and superseded by the Careers Advisory Service; also
ellipt.; so
Youth Employment office,
officer;
† youthgrass,
† youthwort, names for sundew;
youth hostel [
tr. G.
jugendherberge], a hostel providing cheap overnight accommodation for young travellers and holiday-makers; hence
youth-hostel v. intr.,
-hostelling vbl. n.;
youth hosteller;
youth leader, a person having charge of young people in a youth club or other youth organization;
† youthlike a., resembling or having the character of youth, juvenile (
cf. youthly a.);
adv., like a youth, or in the manner of youth; hence
† youthlikeness;
† youth-master, a master who teaches young people;
Youth Opportunities Programme, a Government-sponsored service introduced in 1978 to provide temporary work experience for unemployed young people and replaced in 1983 by the
Youth Training Scheme (see below);
youth orchestra, an orchestra open only to young musicians;
youth-potion, a potion supposed to restore youth;
youth service, a service,
esp. of local government, providing social and recreational facilities for young people;
Youth Training Scheme, a Government-sponsored scheme introduced in 1983 to replace the
Youth Opportunities Programme (see above) and offering job experience and training for unemployed school leavers;
youth work, social work among young people; hence
youth worker.
| 1936 H. Szold Let. 4 Sept. in M. Lowenthal Henrietta Szold: Life & Lett. (1942) xvi. 312 We build homes, we work our heads off over *Youth Aliyah and social service. 1968 P. Durst Badge of Infamy i. 3 A Youth Aliyah village in a kibbutz south of Tel Aviv. 1975 E. Avriel Open the Gates! vi. 62 We had a number of special immigration certificates for youngsters from the separately functioning body of Youth Aliyah. |
| 1889 G. Nicholson Illustr. Dict. Gardening IV. 241/2 Zinnia... *Youth and Old Age. 1971 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 80/1 Zinnias—common name ‘youth-and-old-age’—have normally bloomed in late summer. |
| 1911 Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson xix. 292 As on the towing-path, so on the *youth-bereft rafts of the barges, yonder, stood many stupefied elders, staring at the river. |
| a 1618 Sylvester Sonn. Mirac. Peace xii, My *youth-bold thoughts. |
| [1936 Liverpool Echo 5 Sept. 4/1 (heading) A visit to a Hitler youth camp.] 1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags iii. 217 Those absurd instructors who harangued the *youth camps. 1975 H. W. Koch Hitler Youth ix. 196 Officials of the party and the Hitler Youth participated. Final selection of candidates was made early each year in what was described as ‘Youth Camp’. |
| 1942 H. C. Warner Christian Youth Leadership ii. 26 We have seen the sudden outcrop of *Youth Centres, Youth Service Corps, Juvenile Civil Defence Units, etc. 1958 I. Murdoch Bell xx. 251 The opening of a new youth centre. 1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth i. 21 The Youth Centre curtains are apparently unavailable for the Easter Fête, dear. |
| 1943 C. Day Lewis Word over All 16 Oh *youth-charmed hours. |
| 1940 Times 19 Sept. 7/3 *Youth clubs may be found in all districts of the city. 1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys iv. 249 Some of the blocks..had community centres and youth clubs. 1957 J. Osborne Entertainer 28, I was teaching Art to a bunch of Youth Club kids. 1980 P. Lively Judgement Day i. 7 He was no good at Youth Clubs and disturbed black teenagers. |
| 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Sheph. i. i, That heavy *youth-consuming Miserie. |
| 1968 Harper's Oct. 8/3 That temptation to jump on the *youthcult bandwagon is hard to resist. 1976 B. Bova Multiple Man vii. 73 Aspen was once a center of the youth cult... Kids from all over the country flocked there. 1980 J. O'Faolain No Country for Young Men x. 209 Typical Ireland! They got the youth cult ten years late. |
| 1958 Listener 28 Aug. 308/2 We know little or nothing about the motivation of the new *youth culture, whose emergence is one of the key phenomena of the 'fifties. 1977 M. Dickstein Gates of Eden 289 The best ongoing rock criticism, some of it quite sharp, appeared in periodicals associated with the youth culture of the sixties, such as Rolling Stone, Creem, Crawdaddy and the Village Voice. 1985 Isis 3 May 4/2 Youth culture implies the new, the non-conformist, the intractable, yet these still form themselves into cults with rules to keep you right. |
| 1953 C. Day Lewis Italian Visit v. 55 I too gave tongue in my piping *youth-days. |
| 1948 Youth Employment Service (Min. Labour) 1 Local Education Authorities in England and Wales..may be authorised by means of a scheme approved by the Minister of Labour and National Service to operate a *Youth Employment Service. 1966 P. Willmott Adolescent Boys vi. 105 In theory, the youth employment service is available to help school leavers find suitable work. In fact, although more of the boys in the sample had got their first job through the Youth Employment Officer than any other single source, they were not a majority. 1976 L. Thomas Dangerous Davies iv. 30 She had gone to the youth employment office..to inquire about..becoming a nurse. |
| 1584 Cogan Haven Health ccxxiv. 228 In Lankashire..the common people do call it *youth grasse, and they think that it rotteth sheepe. |
| 1946 Koestler Thieves in Night 155 The *youth-group for a while looked on critically at us rapturous elders. |
| 1929 Liverpool Post & Mercury 13 Dec. 7/5 (heading) *Youth hostels. Ibid., A meeting..held last evening in Liverpool, passed a resolution in favour of proceeding with the formation of a local Youth Hostel Association for the purpose of providing hostels in North Wales for holiday sojourns on the lines of those already existing on the Continent, in Scotland, and Northumberland. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway ix. 185 ‘Are you fond of hiking?’ ‘We used to do a lot,’ he said. ‘Staying in Youth Hostels?’ she inquired. 1972 D. Devine Three Green Bottles i. iv. 39, I was youth-hostelling on a hired bicycle. 1977 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 5 June 24/4 When the original—and still operating—youth hostel opened its doors in the West German town of Altena 68 years ago, its purpose was to provide inexpensive accommodations for young students on walking trips. 1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds xvii. 441 The typical fate of Australians in England, youth-hosteling on a shoestring, working for a pittance. |
| 1933 Y.H.A. Rucksack Summer 42/1 This is written as a challenge to *Youth Hostellers everywhere to send us word whether they want such a hostel. 1977 M. Drabble Ice Age ii. 152 Whenever he went to any of the three pubs..he had to spend his time listening to complaints about the behaviour of delinquent youth hostellers. |
| 1947 (title) *Youth hostelling abroad. 1959 Woman 2 May 3/4 Youth Hostelling is great fun, for those who enjoy an outdoor holiday, with a sufficiency of male escorts. |
| 1936 Liverpool Echo 5 Sept. 4/1 In the streets [of Germany] we met policemen, storm-troopers, *youth-leaders, soldiers,..all in their various uniforms. 1958 Listener 21 Aug. 256/1 Youth leaders trained in Spain by Franco's Falange. 1973 ‘B. Mather’ Snowline i. 10 A youth leader at a church club in London. |
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. 518 When shee saw Priamus *youthlik surcharged in armour. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. iv. (1912) 371 All such, whom either youthfull age, or youth-like mindes did fill with unlimited desires. |
| 1549 Chaloner Erasm. on Folly C iij b, Women with their smoth chekes, small voyces, and fine skinnes, doo euer shewe a certayne *youthlikeness. |
| 1550 Harington tr. Cicero's Bk. Friendship (1562) 48 b, For so shall nursses and *youthmaisters chalenge muche frendshyp. |
| 1921 Survey 31 Dec. 487 (heading) *Youth movement of Germany. 1941 ‘G. Orwell’ Lion & Unicorn i. 16 No party rallies, no *Youth Movements. 1982 Listener 11 Feb. 3/1 The youth movements and their clashes with the police in the 1960s. |
| 1977 Dept. of Employment Press Notice 29 June 1 Up to 230,000 unemployed youngsters each year will have a chance of work experience or training under a new {pstlg}160 million *Youth Opportunities Programme announced today by Mr. Albert Booth, Secretary of State for Employment. 1983 Sunday Tel. 16 Oct. 11/4 A Midlands businessman who has successfully employed Jamaican youngsters under the Youth Opportunities Programme. |
| 1948 Times 22 Apr. 7/4 The Bath Assembly..opened this afternoon in the Pavilion with a concert given by the National *Youth Orchestra. 1972 Daily Tel. 18 Jan. 9/5 Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra, a 100-strong unit which has a considerable reputation as a youth orchestra. |
| 1959 Listener 2 July 17/2 Local institutions: for example, water boards, *youth organizations and universities. |
| 1977 Gay News 7–20 Apr. 8/3 It's always been known as a *youth-oriented action spot. 1982 S. Brett Murder Unprompted v. 51 The new youth-oriented culture. |
| 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. liii, A sorceress..to mix *youth-potions for others. |
| 1943 Ann. Reg. 1942 68 The Council..advocated..adequate *youth services. 1962 Guardian 25 Sept. 6/4 A great impact would be felt if this country had a fully developed..youth service staffed by trained social workers and youth leaders. 1975 Times 2 Jan. 3/1 Libraries and the youth services will be among the main victims of cuts..in 1975. |
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iv. Captains 1220 'Tis better bear the *Youth-slips of a King..Then to fill all with Bloud-flouds of Debate. |
| 1553 N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices ii. xiii. (1556) 81 Publius Rutilius *youth⁓state [orig. adolescentiam]. |
| 1873 Brennan Witch of Nemi, etc. 291 The seeds that in *youth-tide we sow. |
| 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. I. 307 Their works, produced in the *youth-time of the human race. 1895 Educat. Rev. Sept. 190 Miss Cobbe regrets the banished grace of her mother's youthtime. |
| 1981 Hansard Commons 15 Dec. 153 We are able to ask the Manpower Services Commission to ensure that this new *youth training scheme is in full operation by the autumn of 1983. 1983 Times 18 Jan. 1/4 The Government is putting a {pstlg}100-a-head value on the work and training opportunities created by new jobs ‘brokers’ under the {pstlg}1000m Youth Training Scheme, which starts in Sept. |
| 1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 306 Trust funds..for the development of *youth work. 1964 ‘J. H. Roberts’ ‘Q’ Document (1965) iv. 84 She..had pangs of conscience and decided to go into youth work. |
| 1976 Equals Dec. 6/1 A *youth worker is to be appointed to escort young people to interviews,..and generally support those making an uncertain start in work or training. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal iii. clv. 1366 Called in English Sunne deaw, Ros Solis, *Youth woort. 1598 R. Chester Poems (1914) 18 Youthwort faire Affections lover. |
Hence
youthen (
ˈjuːθ(ə)n)
v. [
-en5],
trans. to make youthful, impart a youthful appearance to;
intr. to become youthful, acquire youthful qualities;
ˈyouthless a., having no youth, lacking the ordinary characteristics of youth (whence
ˈyouthlessness);
† ˈyouthness, youth;
ˈyouthship, with
poss. adj., used as a title (
cf. worship);
† ˈyouthsome a., youthful in disposition, juvenile.
| 1882 Even. Star (Philad.) 28 Apr., No dress *youthens a girl so much as white. 1916 C. H. Sorley Lett. (1919) 140 You will always be forty to strangers perhaps: and youthen as you get to know them. |
| 1906 Mansfield Girl & Gods xiii, A *youthless, over-developed girl of fifteen. |
| 1909 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 June 225/2 It is his own letters..his cold *youthlessness..that are his enemy. |
| c 1475 Partenay 5221 Þat he had don in his *youthnesse soo. |
| 1906 A. & E. Castle ‘If Youth but knew’ ii, Heaven knows..what sweet hostess may not greet your *youthship tonight. |
| 1661 Pepys Diary 31 Oct., I found him drinking and very jolly and *youthsome. |