English → Latin
“infancy” in Latin
īnfānsspeechless, inarticulate; newborn; childish, foolishpueritiaboyhood, childhood, youth; innocence; childishness, callownessaetāsthe period of a life: lifetime, lifespan; time of life, period or stage of life, age; an undefined, relatively long peri
The English word infancy itself goes back to Latin for, through īnfantia.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
infancy
prima aetas: prima aetatis tempora (general term): infantia: infantiae anni (the time when the child cannot, or can but just speak): pueritia: aetas puerilis (boyhood): from infancy, a prima (or ab ineunte) aetate; a prima infantia (Tac., Ann., 1, 4, 3): ab initio aetatis; a primis aetatis temporibus; a parvo or parvulo: a puero (and in plur., a parvis or parvulis, a pueris, of several, or if one speaks of himself in the plur.); a teneris, ut Graeci dicunt, unguiculis (translation of the Greek ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὀνύχων, only in epistolary style of Cic., Fam., 1, 6, extr.). To die in his infancy, in cunis occidere (Cic., Tusc., 1, 39, 93).
IMPROPR., In the sense of imperfect state: e.g., of arts, etc., prima initia, plur.: incunabula, or quasi or velut incunabula (the cradle; e.g., of the oratorical art, de oratoris quasi incunabulis, Cic.; ab ipsis dicendi velut incunabulis, Quint.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for infancy?
- The usual Latin words for “infancy” are īnfāns, pueritia, aetās. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.