preteenage

P3R1E1T1E1E1N1A1G2E1

adjective

Younger than teenage; often specifically of an age shortly before the teens, such as 10-12.

OriginEnglish teenage ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae- →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectivepreteenage (not comparable)
  1. not comparableYounger than teenage; often specifically of an age shortly before the teens, such as 10-12.

    So the same chains that had won over the preteenage, teenage and college crowd decided to tackle older women.

    2007 February 27, Michael Barbaro, “Gap Closing Chain Aimed at Over-30s”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishteenage
  10. Englishpreteenage

From pre- + teenage.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

preteenage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preteenage

MLA

“preteenage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preteenage. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “preteenage,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/preteenage.

Source: preteenage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.