young

Young is a term used as both an adjective and a noun to describe a relatively early stage of life or a short time since birth. As an adjective, it denotes not being old, typically referring to humans in infancy, childhood, or adolescence, though it can describe any living thing that has not yet reached maturity. As a noun, the young can refer collectively to young people or to the offspring of animals, especially when contrasted with adults.

Etymology traces young to the Old English geong, meaning “young, youthful.” It is related to Dutch jong and German jung, and has long framed the boundary between childhood and adulthood in many languages. The word has acquired figurative senses in contexts such as history and creation, where it can imply newness or freshness.

In grammar, younger and youngest are the comparative and superlative forms. The word is commonly used with modifiers such as very or still: young people, a young animal. The phrase the young functions as a collective noun for children or for juveniles, and it can appear with verbs that take plural subjects.

Socially, youth denotes a life stage spanning adolescence to early adulthood, while young is a relative descriptor within that stage or for things in early life. Legal definitions of who is considered young vary by country and policy, shaping education, employment, and rights.

In biology, young describes the juvenile stage of animals or refers to offspring, as in the young of deer or birds.

Across cultures, the term carries a range of neutral and evaluative associations, from energetic and hopeful to vulnerable or inexperienced, depending on context.