What is the Latin word for young?

The usual Latin words for “young” are parvus, parvulus, īnfāns; also puer, puella, adulēscēns. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“young” in Latin

parvussmall; little; puny; cheap; petty; trifling; ignorable; unimportant parvuluslittle; tiny; petty; small; slight; paltry; mean; unimportant; insignificant; young; tender of years īnfānsspeechless, inarticulate; newborn; childish, foolish puera child; chit; a boy, lad (typically between ages 7-14 but could be younger) (older than an īnfāns but younger than an a puellagirl, lass, maiden (female child); sweetheart, mistress, beloved maiden; young woman, young wife adulēscēnsyoung, youthful; minor (of two boys)iuvenisA youth, a young man, young woman, young adult (between ages 20-40), (older than an adulescens but younger than a senior fīliadaughter; any female offspring pullusany young animal, young, especially; a shoot, a young plant; darling catuluswhelp; young dog, puppy, young wolf; iron fetter

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

young adj.

and Vid:

Of persons, parvus, parvulus (not yet grown up; opposed to adultus): infans (under the seventh year): puer, puella (a boy, girl, to the seventeenth year and beyond): adolescentulus, adolescens (to the thirtieth year and beyond): juvenis (a young man, to the forty-fifth year and beyond: ☞ puer is said of persons older than the seventeenth year, to denote their want of experience; adolescens, especially, also, as implying absence of caution and considerateness which belong to old age; and juvenis, as implying that the party is in the prime of life, still in full vigor): filius (a son, as opposed to his father; e.g., the young Marius, Marius filius): a young man, puer, adolescens, juvenis: filius (a son, opposed to his father): young people [Vid: YOUTH]: still very young, plane puer: peradolescentulus: that is still too young for anything, cujus setas non matura alicujus rei. To make young again, juveniles annos reddere alicui; alicui juvenilem quandam speciem reddere; renovare: to grow young again, juvenescere; repuerascere; renovari.

Of animals, pullus (substantive, with the name of the animal added in an adjective; e.g., a young horse, pullus equinus): catulus (of the young of dogs and cats; e.g., catulus canis; catulus felis: figuratively, also, of the young of other animals; e.g., of swine, sheep, serpents): juvencus, juvenca (a bullock, heifer; juvencae also, figuratively of young hens; opposed to veteres gallinae; Plin., 10, 53, 74). The young, soboles; quae bestiae procreant (procrearunt); quae procreata sunt; quae nata sunt: to bring forth young, fetus edere or procreare catulos parere.

Of trees and plants, novellus: a young vine, vitis novella.

Of other things; novus: a young (lately married) wife, nova nupta: a young husband, novus maritus.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for young?: The usual Latin words for “young” are parvus, parvulus, īnfāns; also puer, puella, adulēscēns. 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.