wiekowy

Wiekowy is an adjective in Polish derived from the noun wiek, meaning age or era. It denotes relation to age or to a particular historical period and is used in both general and technical language to describe something by its age or to refer to age‑based classifications and temporal contexts.

Etymology and forms: The word is formed by adding the suffix -owy to wiek, giving wiekowy (masculine), wiekowa (feminine), and wiekowe (neuter/plural). This pattern belongs to a broader group of adjectives that express belonging or relation to a noun. In phrases, the form agrees with the grammatical gender of the head noun, for example: struktura wiekowa populacji (the age structure of the population), grupa wiekowa (age group), kategoria wiekowa (age category).

Usage: Wiekowy appears most often in formal, statistical, or historical contexts. It is common in demography, archaeology, and other disciplines to indicate age‑related characteristics or to designate eras, periods, or age‑based classifications. In everyday speech, more common terms are often preferred, such as wiekowy referring to a specific age group or category in technical language or, in nontechnical contexts, descriptors like stary or starodawny for general notions of oldness.

Nuances: Wiekowy should not be confused with zabytkowy (antique) or staroświecki (old‑fashioned); the former emphasizes historical value, while wiekowy focuses on age or epoch.

See also: wiek, wiekowa struktura, grupa wiekowa, struktura wiekowa, epoka, era.