childhood

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English childhode, childhod, from Old English ċildhād (“childhood”). By surface analysis, child +‎ -hood. Compare dialectal Dutch kindheid (“childishness”), German Low German Kinnerheid (“childhood”), and German Kindheit (“childhood”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/ Rhymes: -aɪldhʊd Hyphenation: child‧hood === Noun === childhood (countable and uncountable, plural childhoods) (chiefly uncountable) The state of being a child. The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty. (by extension) The early stages of development of something. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === childhood on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == Middle English == === Noun === childhood alternative form of childhode