Adjacent Words

Puberty definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PU'BERTY, n. [L.pubertas, from pubes.] The age at which persons are capable of procreating and bearing children. This age is different in different climates, but is with us considered to be at fourteen years in males, and twelve in females.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the time of life when sex glands become functional [syn: puberty, pubescence]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English puberte, from Latin pubertas, from puber pubescent Date: 14th century 1. the condition of being or the period of becoming first capable of reproducing sexually marked by maturing of the genital organs, development of secondary sex characteristics, and in the human and in higher primates by the first occurrence of menstruation in the female 2. the age at which puberty occurs often construed legally as 14 in boys and 12 in girls

Britannica Concise

In human physiology, the period of first becoming capable of reproducing sexually. Occurring at about age 12 in girls and age 14 in boys, puberty is characterized by the maturing of the genital organs, development of secondary sex characteristics, and, in girls, onset of menstruation. Both sexes experience a swift increase in body size and changes in body shape and composition. Puberty marks the beginning of adolescence.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the period during which adolescents reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction. Phrases and idioms: age of puberty the age at which puberty begins, in law usu. 14 in boys and 12 in girls. Derivatives: pubertal adj. Etymology: ME f. F puberté or L pubertas f. puber adult

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Puberty Pu"ber*ty, n. [L. pubertas, fr. puber, pubes, adult: cf. F. pubert['e].] 1. The earliest age at which persons are capable of begetting or bearing children, usually considered, in temperate climates, to be about fourteen years in males and twelve in females. 2. (Bot.) The period when a plant first bears flowers.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Puberty is the stage in someone's life when their body starts to become physically mature. Margaret had reached the age of puberty.