juvenile
Meaning
relating to young people or animals
childish or immature
a young person or animal
Structure
Usage
The park has a special area for juvenile offenders to participate in community service.
He was criticized for his juvenile sense of humor during the serious meeting.
The biologist studied the feeding habits of the juvenile salmon.
Etymology
The word 'juvenile' originates from the Latin adjective iuvenilis, meaning "youthful," which itself derives from iuvenis, meaning "young man" or "youth." This Latin root can be traced further back to the Proto-Indo-European root h₂yéwHōn, meaning "young" or "vital force," a root also shared by words like 'young' and 'junior.' The suffix -ilis was a productive Latin adjectival suffix. Over time, the term evolved from its literal sense of "pertaining to youth" to also acquire the figurative meaning of "immature" or "childish," reflecting a judgment on behavior considered typical of, but not limited to, the young.
Analysis
juven (Latin: iuvenis, meaning "young"); ile (Latin: -ilis, a suffix forming adjectives meaning "pertaining to, capable of")