babyhood
Meaning
the period or state of being a baby; infancy.
Structure
Usage
her earliest memories were from her babyhood.
the photograph album documented his entire babyhood.
certain reflexes are common during babyhood but disappear later.
Etymology
the word babyhood is a transparent compound formed within modern english. its first element, baby, entered middle english as a reduplicative, likely onomatopoeic form imitating an infant's babbling. the second element, hood, descends from the old english suffix -hād, which denoted a state, condition, or rank, cognate with old high german -heit and greek -tās. this suffix was productively used to form abstract nouns from concrete ones, such as childhood or priesthood. therefore, babyhood logically constructs the abstract concept of "the state or condition of being a baby" by directly combining the familiar noun with this established state-denoting suffix, following a clear and consistent pattern in english word formation.
Analysis
baby (origin: middle english, likely imitative of infant speech; functional role: base noun denoting a very young child). hood (origin: old english -hād, meaning state, condition, rank; functional role: suffix forming nouns denoting a state or condition).