thirty-five-year-old
thirty-five-year-old
UK[ˌθɜːti faɪv jɪər əʊld]US[ˌθɜːrti faɪv jɪr oʊld]
adj
being thirty-five years of age
n
a person who is thirty-five years old
Etymology
the term is a modern english compound, directly constructed from its constituent numerical and descriptive words. "thirty-five" originates from old english "þrītig" (thirty) and "fīf" (five), both of germanic origin. "year" derives from old english "ġēar", from proto-germanic "jērą", and "old" from old english "eald", also of germanic lineage. the hyphenated structure "number-year-old" is a productive pattern in english for forming precise age descriptors, showcasing the language's analytical capacity to create new, transparent compounds from existing native vocabulary without relying on classical affixation.
Analysis
this is a compound adjective/noun formed by hyphenating the cardinal number "thirty-five" with the phrase "year-old". it is not segmentable into classical morphemes as it is a modern english syntactic construction.
Examples
she is a thirty-five-year-old architect from london.
the program is designed for the thirty-five-year-old demographic.
he became the youngest, or rather, the only thirty-five-year-old, to receive the award.