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nonage

[non-ij, noh-nij]
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noun
  1. the period of legal minority, or of an age below 21.
  2. any period of immaturity.
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Origin of nonage

1350–1400; late Middle English < Middle French (see non-, age); replacing Middle English nownage < Anglo-French nounage; Middle French as above
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

immaturity, childhood, infancy

Examples from the Web for nonage

Historical Examples

  • England is no more in her dotage than America is in her nonage.

    Canada and the Canadians

    Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle

  • They are a piece of stubborn antiquity, compared with which Stonehenge is in its nonage.

    Pearls of Thought

    Maturin M. Ballou

  • De ovo, as yet in the nonage thereof; but infants may be men in due time.

    William Harvey

    D'Arcy Powers

  • The youth in his nonage, and the gray-haired and very aged man were there.

    The Iron Furnace

    John H. Aughey

  • Kings in their dotage and princes in their nonage wooed her.

British Dictionary definitions for nonage

nonage

noun
  1. law the state of being under any of various ages at which a person may legally enter into certain transactions, such as the making of binding contracts, marrying, etc
  2. any period of immaturity
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nonage

n.

late 14c., "state of not being of age," from Old French nonage, from non- (see non-) + age (see age (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper