childhood
/ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.51 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Of a ſuretie, it is a ioyfull thynge to reioyce in the chyldhode of chyldren, but it is a ryght cruel thing to ſuffre the importunities of their mothers."
- "To our own surprise, our 40-year study of 1,000 children revealed that childhood self-control strongly predicts adult success, in people of high or low intelligence, in rich or poor, and does so throughout the entire population, with a step change in health, wealth, and social success at every level of self-control."
- "I recall with intense pleasure my discovery in childhood of the Greek myths and Homer's "Iliad," in various editions, from an early acquaintance with d'Aulaire’s to Roger Lancelyn Green's versions and, at the French school I attended for several years, a collection memorably entitled "Mythes et Légendes du Monde Grecque et Barbare.""
- "He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood."
- "the childhood of our joy"
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: childhode, ċildhād