puberty

[ pyoo-ber-tee ]
See synonyms for puberty on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the period or age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction of offspring: in common law, presumed to be 14 years in the male and 12 years in the female.

Origin of puberty

1
1350–1400; Middle English puberte<Latin pūbertās adulthood, equivalent to pūber-, stem of pūbēs grown-up + -tās-ty2

Other words from puberty

  • post·pu·ber·ty, adjective

Words Nearby puberty

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How to use puberty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for puberty

puberty

/ (ˈpjuːbətɪ) /


noun
  1. the period at the beginning of adolescence when the sex glands become functional and the secondary sexual characteristics emerge: Also called: pubescence Related adjective: hebetic

Origin of puberty

1
C14: from Latin pūbertās maturity, from pūber adult

Derived forms of puberty

  • pubertal, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for puberty

puberty

[ pyōōbər-tē ]


  1. The stage in the development of humans and other primates marked by the development of secondary sex characteristics, including menarche in females. In humans, puberty occurs at the onset of adolescence, between the ages of about 11 and 14 in girls and 13 and 16 in boys.

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