Etymology

puer aeternus

Today it means: A child-god who is forever young. Full definition →

First used 20th c.Latin puer
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompuer
  2. English todaypuer aeternus

From Latin puer aeternus (“eternal boy”) (in Ovid, Metamorphoses), after use in German by Carl Jung.

Words from the same roots

Latinpuer all →

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. A man who remains emotionally childlike.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.