adultadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈadʌlt/,

/əˈdʌlt/, U.S.

/əˈdəlt/,

/ˈæˌdəlt/

Forms: 1500s adulte, 1600s– adult.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin adultus, adolēscere.

Etymology: < classical Latin adultus full-grown, mature, firmly established, also (noun) fully-grown person (2nd cent. a.d.), uses as adjective and noun of past participle of adolēscere to grow up (see adolescent adj.). Compare French adulte, adjective (1611 in Cotgrave, but compare Middle French (rare) aduls adolescent (1394); 1699 of a plant or other animal) and noun (1570, earliest with reference specifically to the god Jupiter), Old Occitan adulto (noun) adolescent (c1140), Catalan adult, adjective and noun (13th cent.), Spanish adulto, adjective and noun (14th cent.), Portuguese adulto, adjective and noun (1551), Italian adulto, adjective and noun (a1321).Although found sparingly from the 16th cent. onwards, the word apparently remained rare in English until at least the second quarter of the 17th cent.

A. adj.

a. Of a person: having reached the age of maturity; grown-up.Sometimes: spec. (in religious use) that has reached the age of discretion; (in Law) that has reached the age of majority.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > adult > [adjective]

mucha1154

of (formerly also at, to) agec1300

perfect agec1384

full-growna1393

ripea1393

greatc1515

adult1531

maturate1556

mellowed1575

mellow1592

full-aged1596

mature1609

timed1611

grown-upa1640

adulted1645

grown1645

upgrown1667

matured1805

coming of age1858

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. i. sig. Niv Soche persons, beinge nowe adulte, that is to saye, passed theyr childehode.

1653 R. Baxter Christian Concord 10 I intend to have the Names of all the Members in a Church-Book (the Adult in one Colume and the Infants in another).

1684 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. 37 Axilla is the Arm-pit, hairy in adult people.

1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. I. lvii. 636 I believe, our Souls are Adult at Twenty, such as they are ever like to be.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Catechesis An instruction given,..either to children, or adult Heathens, preparatory to their receiving of baptism.

1836 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece III. xxiv. 360 They put to death all the adult citizens, and enslaved the women and children.

1852 19th Rep. Commissioners National Educ. Ireland (1853) II. 49 The boys engaged at agriculture have reached the age of fifteen years, and, therefore, are deemed adult.

1867 Wesleyan Missionary Notices Jan. 61 The masses of the adult population seem dead and buried in..licentiousness.

1910 Hansard Commons 11 July 55 That..suffrage, of course, includes the vote for all adult women.

1941 A. C. Bouquet Compar. Relig. iv. 35 [Initiation] ceremonies..are associated with..the necessary erudition of an adult member of the tribe.

1994 E. Burman Deconstructing Developmental Psychol. iv. 49 In Judaism..boys are considered adult at age 13 while girls attain this status at 12.

2004 Daily Tel. 12 Aug. 6/5 It is..facing..record rates of HIV among adult males as a result of its role as the UK's gay capital.

b. Of (a part of) an animal or plant: mature, developed, full-grown.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > age > maturity > [adjective]

oldlyOE

rankOE

ripedOE

thowenc1200

waxena1325

ripea1393

thrivena1400

provect1531

big1552

mellowed1575

adulted1645

full agea1658

adult1742

ripeful?1836

unyouthful1859

untender1879

maturish1885

1742 Philos. Trans. 1739–40 (Royal Soc.) 41 402 The Bones of an adult Animal will be much weaker coloured. And this is what happened to my Two Turkeys.

1752 Chambers's Cycl. (ed. 7) Suppl. s.v. Adult plants..differ from immature ones in that they contain more oil, and less salt.

1855 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom (ed. 2) vi. 136 When the gemma has grown into an adult worm..the segments are successively thrown off as so many distinct animals.

1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. i. 13 The orang is believed not to be adult till the age of from ten to fifteen years.

1879 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 168 329 The venation..becomes more distinct in the adult leaves.

1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. v. 101 Different stocks produce in the adult plant..different fertility or vigour.

1977 O. W. Richards & R. G. Davies Imms's Gen. Textbk. Entomol. (ed. 10) I. v. 58 The folded adult wings take shape within the cuticle of the last pre-imaginal instar.

2000 A. Karlen Biogr. of Germ (2001) xiv. 91 In some common ticks..reproduction starts when an adult female begins a long, slow meal on her host.

a. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of a mature person; relating to, suitable for, or befitting an adult (sometimes as opposed to a child).In later quots. passing into attributive use of the noun: cf. Compounds 1.

ΚΠ

1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) 82/15 Persones of adult age.

1663 G. Harvey Archelogia Philosophica Nova II. i. xx. 133 A man..at his adult years is seated in a consistent temperament.

1740 P. Doddridge Family Expositor IV. 67 That..dreadful Sentence, which we had brought upon ourselves in adult Life by our..personal Transgressions.

1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 104 It was a tall figure of a philosophic serious, adult look.

1832 Fraser's Mag. Nov. 394/2 Not that it [sc. poetry] avoids..the grace of the adult feeling, the depth of vigorous passion.

1865 G. Grote Plato I. xvii. 494 The successive stages by which every adult mind has been gradually built up from infancy.

1914 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Psychopathol. Everyday Life ix. 223 A childhood fear, often continued in a disguised form into adult life.

1945 E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited i. ii. 41 It seems to me that I grew younger daily with each adult habit that I acquired.

1976 G. Gordon 100 Scenes from Married Life 79 When the boy felt that he and his father were discussing adult matters.

2004 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 5 Dec. 18/4 It conflates our childish fears of things that go bump in the night with our adult understanding of what those things can actually be.

b. Chiefly in predicative use. Mature in attitude, outlook, behaviour, etc.; emotionally and mentally grown-up.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [adjective] > mature

ripeOE

fara1400

mature1667

adult1906

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > [adjective] > showing sound judgement > of persons

well-judging1587

judicious1591

discerning1594

sound1615

solid1632

well-weighed1645

weighed1647

serious-minded1694

well-hired1828

balanced1836

discriminating1849

adult1906

1906 School Arts Jan. 265 If we do not try to force children to be adult in their point of view before nature permits it.

1927 Enemy No. 2. 23 It is a widely-held notion in Europe..that the American is not adult, that he remains all his life a child.

1960 Times 25 Apr. 4/1 Their [sc. a football team's] mental approach was conditioned largely by their adult effervescent captain, Blanchflower.

1989 S. Namjoshi Mothers of Maya Diip i. 6 It says here I can bring a friend provided she is adult and civilised.

2000 A. Mason in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 200/2 The precepts of the Enlightenment often challenged Christianity: dare to be adult and let go of the church's apron-strings.

3. figurative. Of a thing: fully developed or established.

ΚΠ

1638 E. Reynolds Medit. Last Supper xiii. 85 These Shadowes were to the Church of the Iewes many, because..they were but an infant, wee an adult and growne Church.

1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa i. ii. 55 Heresie (that is but Schism adult).

1714 in T. Creech tr. Lucretius Nature of Things (new ed.) 746 (note) It is the Nature..of a Plague, grown adult, and in the Height of its raging, that many Persons should be visited by it at once.

1838 Sir J. Macintosh in Encycl. Brit. 294 He can as rarely hazard glaring innovations in diction, at least in an adult and mature language like ours.

1912 H. W. Holmes in A. E. George tr. M. Montessori Montessori Method p. xxxiv He has as much influence in the affairs of the commonwealth as the average member of an adult democracy.

1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 38/3 Suddenly the idea was there in his mind, full-fledged and adult.

2000 C. Phillips & S. Priwer Space Explor. for Dummies ii. 31 Growing a star isn't a quick process; the Sun took about 50 million years to reach the level of an adult star.

4. Originally North American. Suitable only for adults; used euphemistically to refer to a sexually explicit film, book, or the like; (in extended use) of, relating to, or dealing in such material.See also quot. 1921 at sense B. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > [adjective] > sexually explicit or sensational

adults-only1916

explicit1925

sexational1928

adult1943

1943 Flying July 170/1 (advt.) Adult books for your personal library. Sample and illustrated catalog, 10c.

1972 Harper's Bazaar July 55/3 Nude shows and the misnomered ‘adult’ cinema can flower.

1974 B. Hoddeson Porn People iii. 36/1 I don't like to call our pictures sexploitation pictures. You've heard me use the phrase adult entertainment.

1984 Tampa (Florida) Tribune 2 Apr. 16 a/3 Rentals for adult videos outstrip purchases by 12 to 1.

1989 Independent (Nexis) 20 Nov. Irish newsagents are devoid of ‘top shelf’ men's magazines and there are no ‘adult’ shops selling hardcore pornography.

2001 C. Palahniuk Choke ii. 17 A magazine centrefold,..an adult website.

5. North American. Of accommodation: designed for the use of elderly persons; (in extended use) of, belonging, or relating to the elderly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > old person > [adjective] > of accommodation: designed for the elderly

adult1956

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > [adjective] > type of accommodation

single-bedded1788

poky1828

poking1864

boxy1870

adult1956

the world > people > person > old person > [adjective]

dottered1581

old fogeyish1883

geriatric1926

adult1994

1956 Hospitals 16 Feb. 100/3 ‘As yet too few hospitals and adult homes provide..services which will permit such patients to lead independent lives of dignity outside the hospital,’ Dr. Rusk said.

1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. 4/5 (advt.) Forest Hill, 1 bedroom, small adult building.

1994 Minnesota Monthly July 96/2 (advt.) Referral services to help seniors..identify community services such as meal programs,..transportation services, and adult day care.

2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Sept. a22/2 Many people in adult homes could be better served by living in their own apartments—in so-called supported housing.

B. n.

1. A person who is fully grown or developed; one who has reached maturity.In earliest use denoting one who has reached the age of religious discretion; in Law applied to a person who has reached the age of majority.consenting, juvenile adult: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > adult > [noun]

major1615

adult1655

grown-up1799

full-growner1867

1655 J. Reading Anabaptism Routed i. 82 In the adult..it must make him more confident of his implantation into Christ, then if he knew that he never had been baptized.

1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 327 The small-pocks..are cured by..venesection in the adult.

1686 H. Compton Episcopalia 34 The Jews, when they admitted Adults into their Synagogues.

1713 W. Cheselden Anat. Humane Body i. 36 The Sceleton of an Adult.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. 171 Nauseous Tastes distort the Mouth and Face automatically, not only in young Children, but even in Adults.

1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. x. 90 Treat the child..as he would an adult.

1851 H. Spencer Social Statics xvii. §1 They must say what rights are common to children and adults, and why.

1895 Rep. Supreme Court Iowa 90 269 The plaintiff was in law an adult. She was not then capable of being adopted.

1921 R. C. Benchley in Life 7 July 18/1 It was featured as a sociological clinic..‘for adults only’,..and was disappointing to those who had hoped to be arrested on the way out for not being over twenty-one.

1938 Amer. Home June 86/2 Games..which are enjoyed by older children as well as by adults.

1952 M. Laski Village i. 23 Now she's seventeen she ought to be able to start dressing like an adult and not a schoolgirl.

2006 New Yorker 23 Jan. 30/2 A case can be made that study habits formed in grade school establish patterns for negotiating life as an adult.

2. A mature animal or plant.

ΚΠ

1782 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 72 381 The organ of hearing in fish appears to grow in size with the animal..which is not the case with the quadruped, &c. the organs being in them nearly as large in the growing fœtus as in the adult.

1857 P. H. Gosse Omphalos vii. 171 In the adult the sucker-bearing shoots frequently run to a considerable distance.

1894 Amer. Naturalist 28 124 In the Hexapods..the ‘cerebrum’ of the adult is composed of at least three pairs of ganglia.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xiii. 249 Even more marked is the contrast between the young and the adults in dragon-flies and may-flies.

1985 A. Booth-Moores Garden Pools, Waterfalls & Fountains ix. 88 It is advisable to remove some of the plant material covered in spawn away from the preying adults.

2000 Columbia Encycl. at Bean Beetle The adult is yellow, with black spots.

Compounds

C1. General attributive with sense ‘of, for, or by adult people’, as adult instruction, adult labour, adult school, etc.

ΚΠ

1789 E. Williams Antipœdobaptism Examined II. 117 Some..prefer adult immersion, as in their apprehension more scriptural and solemn.

1814 in Acct. Origin Inst. Teaching Adults to Read (1816) 115 (heading) Speech, Delivered at the first General Meeting of the Friends to Adult Instruction.

1836 F. Hill Nat. Educ. II. 197 The number of adult schools at Bristol.

1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 Oct. 6/1 There are several ways..in which boy and girl labour is utilized [in New York] to the disadvantage of adult labour.

1930 V. Sackville-West Edwardians vi. 291 They played the childish games, with the adult game lying behind them.

1967 Boys' Life Dec. 85 As a driver of the family car, you are accepting an adult responsibility.

1985 Ebony Nov. 358 Ride-ons require adult supervision.

1990 Dancing Times Oct. 102/1 (advt.) Adult classes in contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap and placement.

2010 Church Times 5 Feb. 12/4 If we fail to restore adult authority to children's lives, we are leaving children without a moral compass.

C2.

adult illiteracy n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults > inability

adult illiteracy1870

adult illiterate1871

1870 Times 29 Sept. 12 The percentage of adult illiteracy [in the United States], says Dr. Leigh, was 9 per cent in 1840, 11 per cent in 1850, and again 9 per cent in 1860.

1918 Let. 14 Mar. in Ann. Rep. Secretary of Interior (U.S. Dept. of Interior) I. 29 (heading) Letter to the president on adult illiteracy.

1973 A. Locke in Times 6 Aug. 13/4 Growing concern about the problem of adult illiteracy in Britain.

2004 Economist (U.S. ed.) (Nexis) 2 Oct. Its [sc. India's] adult illiteracy rate is 39%, compared with 9% in China.

adult illiterate n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults > inability

adult illiteracy1870

adult illiterate1871

1871 Jrnl. Assembly Wisconsin 21 Mar. 92 If we deduct one-third of the illiterate for the children under fourteen years of age, there remains eight million adult illiterates.

1997 G. Hosking Russia (1998) iii. ii. 192 There were primary schools for all children,..and for adult illiterates.

adult literacy n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults

adult literacy1902

1902 Chautauquan Dec. 238 In addition to giving the statistics of adult literacy and illiteracy, a census bulletin gives important information concerning the percentage of children..who are able to read and write.

1961 Brit. Surv. July 22 Among other notable activities undertaken in the programme are..mass education, especially the adult literacy campaign, women's and children's welfare, [etc.].

2002 Economist 6 July 25/2 Gauging a country's performance by its record in life expectancy, school enrolment and adult literacy.

adult suffrage n.

ΚΠ

1841 Manch. Times 27 Mar. 4/6 All the other states have male adult suffrage, coupled with at least six months' residence, and in most cases with the payment of taxes.]

1842 Educ. Circular & Communist Apostle May 44 In Associality, Communism would be directed by a Unitary Chief or President, chosen by the universal adult suffrage, or acclamation of his constituents.

1891 G. B. Shaw Quintessence of Ibsenism iv. 95 All of which is no disparagement of adult suffrage.

1992 UNESCO Courier Feb. 22/2 Negotiations between the Government and the ANC and other national movements could lead to..the drafting of a new constitution based on universal adult suffrage.

C3.

adult baptism n. the christening of an adult, or one who has reached the age of discretion, esp. as practised by a church or sect that maintains baptism should only be administered to believing adults (as the Anabaptists, Mennonites, etc.); opposed to infant baptism.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > baptism > kinds of baptism > adult > [noun]

after-baptism1614

adult baptism1646

after-baptizing1680

1646 J. Tombes Apol. Two Treat. Infant-baptisme 53 Those Ministers and people that cannot agree about the validity of Infant-baptisme, or adult-baptisme.

1789 E. Williams Antipœdobaptism Examined II. 117 The practice of adult baptism in the same congregation.

1832 J. Chadwick New Light on Christian Baptism i. ii. 13 As an example of adult baptism merely, it reflects light upon the present question.

1905 Polit. Sci. Q. 20 108 It could not admit that adult baptism was wrong, that paedo-baptism was right, without breaking so completely with its past that sympathy could not reach round the break.

2000 A. Mason in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 81/1 These Brethren fall between Anabaptists and Pietists. They practise adult baptism.

adult education n. education for those over the usual school age, typically outside the standard educational system in day or evening classes; now frequently attributive, as adult education course, adult education programme, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > [noun] > systematic education > adult or further education

adult education1814

further education1913

continuing education1927

tertiary level1961

1814 T. Pole Hist. Origin & Progress Adult Schools 59 (heading) Considerations on the Advantages of Adult Education.

1922 G. M. Trevelyan Brit. Hist. 19th Cent. 164 The case of adult education received its first stimulus from the Industrial Revolution in the desire of mechanics for general scientific knowledge.

1942 Spectator 6 Mar. 244/3 The Cambridgeshire Technical Institute..is the centre of adult education..in Cambridge and district.

1981 D. Rowntree Dict. Educ. 350 The WEA now arranges adult education classes and courses throughout the UK.

1995 This Mag. July (inside cover) They require someone with five years' experience designing and administering adult education programs.

2000 Kingdom (Killarney, County Kerry) 19 Sept. i. 20/2 The ambition is high..: to double enrolments over five years, to encourage men into adult education.

adult-onset adj. Medicine (of a disease, esp. diabetes) beginning during adulthood (as opposed to childhood); (also) affected with a disease of this type.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > other characteristics

hoteOE

redeOE

foulOE

elvishc1386

dryc1400

whitec1450

Naples1507

shaking1528

cold1569

exquisite1583

unpure1583

waterish1583

wandering1585

legitimate1615

sulphureous1625

tetrous1637

cagastrical1662

medical1676

ambulatory1684

ebullient1684

frantic1709

animated1721

progressive1736

cagastric1753

vegetative1803

left-handed1804

specific1804

subacute1811

animate1816

gregarious1822

vernal1822

ambilateral1824

subchronic1831

regressive1845

nummular1866

postoperative1872

ambulant1873

non-surgical1888

progredient1891

spodogenous1897

spodogenic19..

non-invasive1932

early-onset1951

adult-onset1957

non-specific1964

1957 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 7 Dec. 1346/2 At present the immediate results in the above series indicate that the drug will decrease glycosuria and hyperglycaemia in about 90% of the so-called ‘adult-onset’ diabetics.

1979 Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times 27 May 2 c1 The more common adult-onset diabetes.

1994 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 3 Nov. e3/1 Although later diagnosed with adult-onset asthma, Ms. Wilson didn't know enough about the condition to treat her symptoms seriously.

2006 M. Pollan Omnivore's Dilemma vi. 102 The disease formerly known as adult-onset diabetes has had to be renamed Type II diabetes since it now occurs so frequently in children.

Categories »

adult respiratory distress syndrome n. Medicine see respiratory adj. Compounds.

adult student n. a student who is an adult; spec. one who undertakes a course of study at a later age than usual, esp. at a college, university, etc.; cf. mature student n. at mature adj. and n. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > one who studies > late in life

adult student1805

opsimath1808

mature student1953

mature1973

mature-age student1977

1805 J. Carr Northern Summer xvi. 353 Most of the adult students were occupied in painting whole and half length likenesses of the Emperor.

1933 N.Y. Times 10 Dec. n3/1 The education of the part-time and adult student stands out..as a service which institutions of higher learning must recognize and to which they must adapt themselves.

1998 P. E. Herideen Policy, Pedagogy, & Social Inequality 12 Adult students, particularly women, frequently turn to the community college at transitional points in their lives.

2010 Inland Valley Daily Bull. (Ontario, Calif.) (Nexis) 18 Mar. We welcome those adult students from other areas where programs are regrettably being closed.

adult training n. training undertaken as an adult or provided for adults, typically in practical and vocational skills; frequently (and in earliest use) attributive, as adult training centre, adult training programme, adult training school, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > place of education > college or university > [noun] > training-centre

training school1712

training department1819

colony1821

training home1852

adult training school1853

training centre1864

skill centre1963

1853 Church Eng. Sunday School Q. Mag. 6 Index (heading) Adult training schools.

1898 Charity Rec. 18 Aug. 1/1 In 1886 she entered for adult training [as a nurse] at the London Temperance Hospital.

1952 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 8 Oct. 6 About 15 blind workers in the adult training center during the last year have turned out a gross of £12,000 under Armed Forces contracts for brooms.

1970 Changing Times July 42 To deal with the coach and parent problem, Little League runs an adult training program.

1990 B. Evans Polit. Training Market iv. 96 Despite the protestations of interest in adult training..it remained a ‘Cinderella’ element in Britain's training strategy.

2006 Independent (Nexis) 5 Oct. (Features section) 15 Ask your local college and Job Centre if they are aware of adult training schemes.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	adult
释义	adultadj.n. Brit. /ˈadʌlt/, /əˈdʌlt/, U.S. /əˈdəlt/, /ˈæˌdəlt/ Forms: 1500s adulte, 1600s– adult. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin adultus, adolēscere. Etymology: < classical Latin adultus full-grown, mature, firmly established, also (noun) fully-grown person (2nd cent. a.d.), uses as adjective and noun of past participle of adolēscere to grow up (see adolescent adj.). Compare French adulte, adjective (1611 in Cotgrave, but compare Middle French (rare) aduls adolescent (1394); 1699 of a plant or other animal) and noun (1570, earliest with reference specifically to the god Jupiter), Old Occitan adulto (noun) adolescent (c1140), Catalan adult, adjective and noun (13th cent.), Spanish adulto, adjective and noun (14th cent.), Portuguese adulto, adjective and noun (1551), Italian adulto, adjective and noun (a1321).Although found sparingly from the 16th cent. onwards, the word apparently remained rare in English until at least the second quarter of the 17th cent. A. adj. 1. a. Of a person: having reached the age of maturity; grown-up.Sometimes: spec. (in religious use) that has reached the age of discretion; (in Law) that has reached the age of majority. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > adult > [adjective] mucha1154 of (formerly also at, to) agec1300 perfect agec1384 full-growna1393 ripea1393 greatc1515 adult1531 maturate1556 mellowed1575 mellow1592 full-aged1596 mature1609 timed1611 grown-upa1640 adulted1645 grown1645 upgrown1667 matured1805 coming of age1858 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. i. sig. Niv Soche persons, beinge nowe adulte, that is to saye, passed theyr childehode. 1653 R. Baxter Christian Concord 10 I intend to have the Names of all the Members in a Church-Book (the Adult in one Colume and the Infants in another). 1684 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. 37 Axilla is the Arm-pit, hairy in adult people. 1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. I. lvii. 636 I believe, our Souls are Adult at Twenty, such as they are ever like to be. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Catechesis An instruction given,..either to children, or adult Heathens, preparatory to their receiving of baptism. 1836 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece III. xxiv. 360 They put to death all the adult citizens, and enslaved the women and children. 1852 19th Rep. Commissioners National Educ. Ireland (1853) II. 49 The boys engaged at agriculture have reached the age of fifteen years, and, therefore, are deemed adult. 1867 Wesleyan Missionary Notices Jan. 61 The masses of the adult population seem dead and buried in..licentiousness. 1910 Hansard Commons 11 July 55 That..suffrage, of course, includes the vote for all adult women. 1941 A. C. Bouquet Compar. Relig. iv. 35 [Initiation] ceremonies..are associated with..the necessary erudition of an adult member of the tribe. 1994 E. Burman Deconstructing Developmental Psychol. iv. 49 In Judaism..boys are considered adult at age 13 while girls attain this status at 12. 2004 Daily Tel. 12 Aug. 6/5 It is..facing..record rates of HIV among adult males as a result of its role as the UK's gay capital. b. Of (a part of) an animal or plant: mature, developed, full-grown. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > age > maturity > [adjective] oldlyOE rankOE ripedOE thowenc1200 waxena1325 ripea1393 thrivena1400 provect1531 big1552 mellowed1575 adulted1645 full agea1658 adult1742 ripeful?1836 unyouthful1859 untender1879 maturish1885 1742 Philos. Trans. 1739–40 (Royal Soc.) 41 402 The Bones of an adult Animal will be much weaker coloured. And this is what happened to my Two Turkeys. 1752 Chambers's Cycl. (ed. 7) Suppl. s.v. Adult plants..differ from immature ones in that they contain more oil, and less salt. 1855 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom (ed. 2) vi. 136 When the gemma has grown into an adult worm..the segments are successively thrown off as so many distinct animals. 1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. i. 13 The orang is believed not to be adult till the age of from ten to fifteen years. 1879 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 168 329 The venation..becomes more distinct in the adult leaves. 1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. v. 101 Different stocks produce in the adult plant..different fertility or vigour. 1977 O. W. Richards & R. G. Davies Imms's Gen. Textbk. Entomol. (ed. 10) I. v. 58 The folded adult wings take shape within the cuticle of the last pre-imaginal instar. 2000 A. Karlen Biogr. of Germ (2001) xiv. 91 In some common ticks..reproduction starts when an adult female begins a long, slow meal on her host. 2. a. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of a mature person; relating to, suitable for, or befitting an adult (sometimes as opposed to a child).In later quots. passing into attributive use of the noun: cf. Compounds 1. ΚΠ 1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) 82/15 Persones of adult age. 1663 G. Harvey Archelogia Philosophica Nova II. i. xx. 133 A man..at his adult years is seated in a consistent temperament. 1740 P. Doddridge Family Expositor IV. 67 That..dreadful Sentence, which we had brought upon ourselves in adult Life by our..personal Transgressions. 1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 104 It was a tall figure of a philosophic serious, adult look. 1832 Fraser's Mag. Nov. 394/2 Not that it [sc. poetry] avoids..the grace of the adult feeling, the depth of vigorous passion. 1865 G. Grote Plato I. xvii. 494 The successive stages by which every adult mind has been gradually built up from infancy. 1914 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Psychopathol. Everyday Life ix. 223 A childhood fear, often continued in a disguised form into adult life. 1945 E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited i. ii. 41 It seems to me that I grew younger daily with each adult habit that I acquired. 1976 G. Gordon 100 Scenes from Married Life 79 When the boy felt that he and his father were discussing adult matters. 2004 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 5 Dec. 18/4 It conflates our childish fears of things that go bump in the night with our adult understanding of what those things can actually be. b. Chiefly in predicative use. Mature in attitude, outlook, behaviour, etc.; emotionally and mentally grown-up. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [adjective] > mature ripeOE fara1400 mature1667 adult1906 the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > [adjective] > showing sound judgement > of persons well-judging1587 judicious1591 discerning1594 sound1615 solid1632 well-weighed1645 weighed1647 serious-minded1694 well-hired1828 balanced1836 discriminating1849 adult1906 1906 School Arts Jan. 265 If we do not try to force children to be adult in their point of view before nature permits it. 1927 Enemy No. 2. 23 It is a widely-held notion in Europe..that the American is not adult, that he remains all his life a child. 1960 Times 25 Apr. 4/1 Their [sc. a football team's] mental approach was conditioned largely by their adult effervescent captain, Blanchflower. 1989 S. Namjoshi Mothers of Maya Diip i. 6 It says here I can bring a friend provided she is adult and civilised. 2000 A. Mason in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 200/2 The precepts of the Enlightenment often challenged Christianity: dare to be adult and let go of the church's apron-strings. 3. figurative. Of a thing: fully developed or established. ΚΠ 1638 E. Reynolds Medit. Last Supper xiii. 85 These Shadowes were to the Church of the Iewes many, because..they were but an infant, wee an adult and growne Church. 1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa i. ii. 55 Heresie (that is but Schism adult). 1714 in T. Creech tr. Lucretius Nature of Things (new ed.) 746 (note) It is the Nature..of a Plague, grown adult, and in the Height of its raging, that many Persons should be visited by it at once. 1838 Sir J. Macintosh in Encycl. Brit. 294 He can as rarely hazard glaring innovations in diction, at least in an adult and mature language like ours. 1912 H. W. Holmes in A. E. George tr. M. Montessori Montessori Method p. xxxiv He has as much influence in the affairs of the commonwealth as the average member of an adult democracy. 1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 38/3 Suddenly the idea was there in his mind, full-fledged and adult. 2000 C. Phillips & S. Priwer Space Explor. for Dummies ii. 31 Growing a star isn't a quick process; the Sun took about 50 million years to reach the level of an adult star. 4. Originally North American. Suitable only for adults; used euphemistically to refer to a sexually explicit film, book, or the like; (in extended use) of, relating to, or dealing in such material.See also quot. 1921 at sense B. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > [adjective] > sexually explicit or sensational adults-only1916 explicit1925 sexational1928 adult1943 1943 Flying July 170/1 (advt.) Adult books for your personal library. Sample and illustrated catalog, 10c. 1972 Harper's Bazaar July 55/3 Nude shows and the misnomered ‘adult’ cinema can flower. 1974 B. Hoddeson Porn People iii. 36/1 I don't like to call our pictures sexploitation pictures. You've heard me use the phrase adult entertainment. 1984 Tampa (Florida) Tribune 2 Apr. 16 a/3 Rentals for adult videos outstrip purchases by 12 to 1. 1989 Independent (Nexis) 20 Nov. Irish newsagents are devoid of ‘top shelf’ men's magazines and there are no ‘adult’ shops selling hardcore pornography. 2001 C. Palahniuk Choke ii. 17 A magazine centrefold,..an adult website. 5. North American. Of accommodation: designed for the use of elderly persons; (in extended use) of, belonging, or relating to the elderly. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > old person > [adjective] > of accommodation: designed for the elderly adult1956 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > [adjective] > type of accommodation single-bedded1788 poky1828 poking1864 boxy1870 adult1956 the world > people > person > old person > [adjective] dottered1581 old fogeyish1883 geriatric1926 adult1994 1956 Hospitals 16 Feb. 100/3 ‘As yet too few hospitals and adult homes provide..services which will permit such patients to lead independent lives of dignity outside the hospital,’ Dr. Rusk said. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. 4/5 (advt.) Forest Hill, 1 bedroom, small adult building. 1994 Minnesota Monthly July 96/2 (advt.) Referral services to help seniors..identify community services such as meal programs,..transportation services, and adult day care. 2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Sept. a22/2 Many people in adult homes could be better served by living in their own apartments—in so-called supported housing. B. n. 1. A person who is fully grown or developed; one who has reached maturity.In earliest use denoting one who has reached the age of religious discretion; in Law applied to a person who has reached the age of majority.consenting, juvenile adult: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > adult > [noun] major1615 adult1655 grown-up1799 full-growner1867 1655 J. Reading Anabaptism Routed i. 82 In the adult..it must make him more confident of his implantation into Christ, then if he knew that he never had been baptized. 1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 327 The small-pocks..are cured by..venesection in the adult. 1686 H. Compton Episcopalia 34 The Jews, when they admitted Adults into their Synagogues. 1713 W. Cheselden Anat. Humane Body i. 36 The Sceleton of an Adult. 1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. 171 Nauseous Tastes distort the Mouth and Face automatically, not only in young Children, but even in Adults. 1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. x. 90 Treat the child..as he would an adult. 1851 H. Spencer Social Statics xvii. §1 They must say what rights are common to children and adults, and why. 1895 Rep. Supreme Court Iowa 90 269 The plaintiff was in law an adult. She was not then capable of being adopted. 1921 R. C. Benchley in Life 7 July 18/1 It was featured as a sociological clinic..‘for adults only’,..and was disappointing to those who had hoped to be arrested on the way out for not being over twenty-one. 1938 Amer. Home June 86/2 Games..which are enjoyed by older children as well as by adults. 1952 M. Laski Village i. 23 Now she's seventeen she ought to be able to start dressing like an adult and not a schoolgirl. 2006 New Yorker 23 Jan. 30/2 A case can be made that study habits formed in grade school establish patterns for negotiating life as an adult. 2. A mature animal or plant. ΚΠ 1782 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 72 381 The organ of hearing in fish appears to grow in size with the animal..which is not the case with the quadruped, &c. the organs being in them nearly as large in the growing fœtus as in the adult. 1857 P. H. Gosse Omphalos vii. 171 In the adult the sucker-bearing shoots frequently run to a considerable distance. 1894 Amer. Naturalist 28 124 In the Hexapods..the ‘cerebrum’ of the adult is composed of at least three pairs of ganglia. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xiii. 249 Even more marked is the contrast between the young and the adults in dragon-flies and may-flies. 1985 A. Booth-Moores Garden Pools, Waterfalls & Fountains ix. 88 It is advisable to remove some of the plant material covered in spawn away from the preying adults. 2000 Columbia Encycl. at Bean Beetle The adult is yellow, with black spots. Compounds C1. General attributive with sense ‘of, for, or by adult people’, as adult instruction, adult labour, adult school, etc. ΚΠ 1789 E. Williams Antipœdobaptism Examined II. 117 Some..prefer adult immersion, as in their apprehension more scriptural and solemn. 1814 in Acct. Origin Inst. Teaching Adults to Read (1816) 115 (heading) Speech, Delivered at the first General Meeting of the Friends to Adult Instruction. 1836 F. Hill Nat. Educ. II. 197 The number of adult schools at Bristol. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 Oct. 6/1 There are several ways..in which boy and girl labour is utilized [in New York] to the disadvantage of adult labour. 1930 V. Sackville-West Edwardians vi. 291 They played the childish games, with the adult game lying behind them. 1967 Boys' Life Dec. 85 As a driver of the family car, you are accepting an adult responsibility. 1985 Ebony Nov. 358 Ride-ons require adult supervision. 1990 Dancing Times Oct. 102/1 (advt.) Adult classes in contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap and placement. 2010 Church Times 5 Feb. 12/4 If we fail to restore adult authority to children's lives, we are leaving children without a moral compass. C2. adult illiteracy n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults > inability adult illiteracy1870 adult illiterate1871 1870 Times 29 Sept. 12 The percentage of adult illiteracy [in the United States], says Dr. Leigh, was 9 per cent in 1840, 11 per cent in 1850, and again 9 per cent in 1860. 1918 Let. 14 Mar. in Ann. Rep. Secretary of Interior (U.S. Dept. of Interior) I. 29 (heading) Letter to the president on adult illiteracy. 1973 A. Locke in Times 6 Aug. 13/4 Growing concern about the problem of adult illiteracy in Britain. 2004 Economist (U.S. ed.) (Nexis) 2 Oct. Its [sc. India's] adult illiteracy rate is 39%, compared with 9% in China. adult illiterate n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults > inability adult illiteracy1870 adult illiterate1871 1871 Jrnl. Assembly Wisconsin 21 Mar. 92 If we deduct one-third of the illiterate for the children under fourteen years of age, there remains eight million adult illiterates. 1997 G. Hosking Russia (1998) iii. ii. 192 There were primary schools for all children,..and for adult illiterates. adult literacy n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > ability to read and write among adults adult literacy1902 1902 Chautauquan Dec. 238 In addition to giving the statistics of adult literacy and illiteracy, a census bulletin gives important information concerning the percentage of children..who are able to read and write. 1961 Brit. Surv. July 22 Among other notable activities undertaken in the programme are..mass education, especially the adult literacy campaign, women's and children's welfare, [etc.]. 2002 Economist 6 July 25/2 Gauging a country's performance by its record in life expectancy, school enrolment and adult literacy. adult suffrage n. ΚΠ 1841 Manch. Times 27 Mar. 4/6 All the other states have male adult suffrage, coupled with at least six months' residence, and in most cases with the payment of taxes.] 1842 Educ. Circular & Communist Apostle May 44 In Associality, Communism would be directed by a Unitary Chief or President, chosen by the universal adult suffrage, or acclamation of his constituents. 1891 G. B. Shaw Quintessence of Ibsenism iv. 95 All of which is no disparagement of adult suffrage. 1992 UNESCO Courier Feb. 22/2 Negotiations between the Government and the ANC and other national movements could lead to..the drafting of a new constitution based on universal adult suffrage. C3. adult baptism n. the christening of an adult, or one who has reached the age of discretion, esp. as practised by a church or sect that maintains baptism should only be administered to believing adults (as the Anabaptists, Mennonites, etc.); opposed to infant baptism. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > baptism > kinds of baptism > adult > [noun] after-baptism1614 adult baptism1646 after-baptizing1680 1646 J. Tombes Apol. Two Treat. Infant-baptisme 53 Those Ministers and people that cannot agree about the validity of Infant-baptisme, or adult-baptisme. 1789 E. Williams Antipœdobaptism Examined II. 117 The practice of adult baptism in the same congregation. 1832 J. Chadwick New Light on Christian Baptism i. ii. 13 As an example of adult baptism merely, it reflects light upon the present question. 1905 Polit. Sci. Q. 20 108 It could not admit that adult baptism was wrong, that paedo-baptism was right, without breaking so completely with its past that sympathy could not reach round the break. 2000 A. Mason in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 81/1 These Brethren fall between Anabaptists and Pietists. They practise adult baptism. adult education n. education for those over the usual school age, typically outside the standard educational system in day or evening classes; now frequently attributive, as adult education course, adult education programme, etc. ΘΚΠ society > education > [noun] > systematic education > adult or further education adult education1814 further education1913 continuing education1927 tertiary level1961 1814 T. Pole Hist. Origin & Progress Adult Schools 59 (heading) Considerations on the Advantages of Adult Education. 1922 G. M. Trevelyan Brit. Hist. 19th Cent. 164 The case of adult education received its first stimulus from the Industrial Revolution in the desire of mechanics for general scientific knowledge. 1942 Spectator 6 Mar. 244/3 The Cambridgeshire Technical Institute..is the centre of adult education..in Cambridge and district. 1981 D. Rowntree Dict. Educ. 350 The WEA now arranges adult education classes and courses throughout the UK. 1995 This Mag. July (inside cover) They require someone with five years' experience designing and administering adult education programs. 2000 Kingdom (Killarney, County Kerry) 19 Sept. i. 20/2 The ambition is high..: to double enrolments over five years, to encourage men into adult education. adult-onset adj. Medicine (of a disease, esp. diabetes) beginning during adulthood (as opposed to childhood); (also) affected with a disease of this type. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > other characteristics hoteOE redeOE foulOE elvishc1386 dryc1400 whitec1450 Naples1507 shaking1528 cold1569 exquisite1583 unpure1583 waterish1583 wandering1585 legitimate1615 sulphureous1625 tetrous1637 cagastrical1662 medical1676 ambulatory1684 ebullient1684 frantic1709 animated1721 progressive1736 cagastric1753 vegetative1803 left-handed1804 specific1804 subacute1811 animate1816 gregarious1822 vernal1822 ambilateral1824 subchronic1831 regressive1845 nummular1866 postoperative1872 ambulant1873 non-surgical1888 progredient1891 spodogenous1897 spodogenic19.. non-invasive1932 early-onset1951 adult-onset1957 non-specific1964 1957 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 7 Dec. 1346/2 At present the immediate results in the above series indicate that the drug will decrease glycosuria and hyperglycaemia in about 90% of the so-called ‘adult-onset’ diabetics. 1979 Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times 27 May 2 c1 The more common adult-onset diabetes. 1994 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 3 Nov. e3/1 Although later diagnosed with adult-onset asthma, Ms. Wilson didn't know enough about the condition to treat her symptoms seriously. 2006 M. Pollan Omnivore's Dilemma vi. 102 The disease formerly known as adult-onset diabetes has had to be renamed Type II diabetes since it now occurs so frequently in children. Categories » adult respiratory distress syndrome n. Medicine see respiratory adj. Compounds. adult student n. a student who is an adult; spec. one who undertakes a course of study at a later age than usual, esp. at a college, university, etc.; cf. mature student n. at mature adj. and n. Compounds. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > one who studies > late in life adult student1805 opsimath1808 mature student1953 mature1973 mature-age student1977 1805 J. Carr Northern Summer xvi. 353 Most of the adult students were occupied in painting whole and half length likenesses of the Emperor. 1933 N.Y. Times 10 Dec. n3/1 The education of the part-time and adult student stands out..as a service which institutions of higher learning must recognize and to which they must adapt themselves. 1998 P. E. Herideen Policy, Pedagogy, & Social Inequality 12 Adult students, particularly women, frequently turn to the community college at transitional points in their lives. 2010 Inland Valley Daily Bull. (Ontario, Calif.) (Nexis) 18 Mar. We welcome those adult students from other areas where programs are regrettably being closed. adult training n. training undertaken as an adult or provided for adults, typically in practical and vocational skills; frequently (and in earliest use) attributive, as adult training centre, adult training programme, adult training school, etc. ΘΚΠ society > education > place of education > college or university > [noun] > training-centre training school1712 training department1819 colony1821 training home1852 adult training school1853 training centre1864 skill centre1963 1853 Church Eng. Sunday School Q. Mag. 6 Index (heading) Adult training schools. 1898 Charity Rec. 18 Aug. 1/1 In 1886 she entered for adult training [as a nurse] at the London Temperance Hospital. 1952 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 8 Oct. 6 About 15 blind workers in the adult training center during the last year have turned out a gross of £12,000 under Armed Forces contracts for brooms. 1970 Changing Times July 42 To deal with the coach and parent problem, Little League runs an adult training program. 1990 B. Evans Polit. Training Market iv. 96 Despite the protestations of interest in adult training..it remained a ‘Cinderella’ element in Britain's training strategy. 2006 Independent (Nexis) 5 Oct. (Features section) 15 Ask your local college and Job Centre if they are aware of adult training schemes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). adultv. Brit. /ˈadʌlt/, /əˈdʌlt/, U.S. /əˈdəlt/, /ˈæˌdəlt/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: adult n. Etymology: < adult n. intransitive. To become, be, or behave as an adult; (now) esp. to carry out the mundane or everyday tasks that are a necessary part of adult life. Cf. adulting n.In quot. 1909 with the sense ‘to mature’. ΚΠ 1909 Christian Sun (Greensboro, N. Carolina) 29 Sept. 5/3 The richest highlands of our mortal life..are gained..when the fruits of our spring plantings are maturing around us, when our children and our churches are adulting from their vivacious spring gushings. 1979 Blytheville (Arkansas) Courier News 7 Sept. 13/2 Allison..changed her life... Now she's ‘adulting’—She's through ‘kidding’. So her toys and games she was ridding. 2008 @unholytwerp 2 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 29 Nov. 2019) Grew up in a town of 2k and adulted 10 years NYC. Same values: Keeping the job. Feeding the family. Educating the kids. Buying the stuff. 2018 @libgamestwitch 2 June in twitter.com (accessed 28 Nov. 2018) I bought a new bed, a new mattress, and a new desk. Can I stop adulting and play video games for the rest of the weekend? This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.n.1531v.1909
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adultadj.n.

Compounds

adultv.