Definition of AGE

age

Meanings

Plural: ages

Noun

  • how long something has existed
    • "it was replaced because of its age"
  • an era of history having some distinctive feature
    • "we live in a litigious age"
  • a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises
    • "she was now of school age"
  • a prolonged period of time
    • "we've known each other for ages"
  • a late time of life
    • "old age is not for sissies"
    • "age hasn't slowed him down at all"
  • The amount of time that some being has been alive, or that some thing has been in existence, as measured from its birth or origin until the present or until some other given reference point. (Often measured in number of years; alternatively in months, days, hours, etc.; see also the usage notes)
  • The state of being old; the latter part of life.
  • Any particular stage of life.
  • The time of life at which some particular power or capacity is understood to become vested.
  • Maturity; especially, the time of life at which one attains full personal rights and capacities.
  • A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
  • The time or era in history when someone or something was alive or flourished.
  • A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
  • A great period in the history of the Earth.
  • A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
  • The shortest geochronologic unit, being a period of thousands to millions of years; a subdivision of an epoch (or sometimes a subepoch).
  • A particular period of time in history, as distinguished from others.
  • One of the twelve divisions of a Great Year, equal to roughly 2000 years and governed by one of the zodiacal signs; a Platonic month.
  • A period of one hundred years; a century.
  • A generation.
  • A long time.
  • Lifespan, lifetime; the total time that some being is alive from birth to death (or some category of beings, on average).
  • The entitlement of the player to the left of the dealer to pass the first round in betting, and then to come in last or stay out; also, the player holding this position; the eldest hand.

Verb

  • begin to seem older; get older
    • "The death of his wife caused him to age fast"
  • grow old or older
    • "She aged gracefully"
    • "we age every day--what a depressing thought!"
  • make older
    • "The death of his child aged him tremendously"
  • To grow aged; to become old or older; to show marks of age.
  • To grow aged; to become old or older; to show marks of age.
  • To suffer the passage of time so as to later be viewed or turn out in a certain way.
  • To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
  • To allow to mature.
  • To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
  • To treat or tamper with in order to give a false appearance of age.
  • To cause to grow old; to impart the characteristics of age to.
  • To determine the age of (the length of time that something has been alive or in existence).
  • To indicate or reveal that (a person) has been alive for a certain period of time, especially a long one.
  • To allow (something) to persist by postponing an action that would extinguish it, as a debt.
  • To categorize by age.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English age, Old French aage, eage, edage, from an assumed Vulgar Latin *aetāticum, derived from Latin aetātem, itself derived from aevum (“lifetime”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vital force”). Compare French âge. Displaced native Old English ieldu.
The verb is from Middle English agen, from the noun. Originally found mostly as a participial adjective, probably an adjective in -ed, derived from the noun, reanalyzed to create a verb; perhaps modeled on such pairs as Latin senēscō (seneō; verb) / senex (adjective) and Middle French vieillir (verb) / vieil (adjective). Also compare Old French se aagier, eogier (“become of age”).

Synonyms

adulthood, aeon, age, ages, blue moon, centennium, chair days, codgerhood, coon's age, crow's age, cycle, date, day, dog's age, donkey's years, dotage, eld, elden, elderliness, eon, epoch, era, eternity, fogeydom, forever, forever and a day, geezerdom, geezerhood, generation, get on, golden years, Great Year, grow up, historic period, interim, interlude, interval, lifetime, long haul, long run, long time, majority, make older, maturate, mature, meantime, minute, month of Sundays, obsolesce, old age, olden, oldhood, period, Platonic year, season, senectitude, senesce, senescence, senility, seniority, spell, sunset years, superannuate, time, to age, twilight years, upgrow, vetustity, while, years, yonks

Scrabble Score: 4

age is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
age is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
age is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 5

age is a valid Words With Friends word