Meanings
nounpuberty (countable and uncountable, plural puberties)
plural puberties
- countableuncountableA developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.
Girls undergoing puberty show an increase in the total output of cortisol, which is related to stress, while boys show little increase.
2014, Lewis Wolpert, Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man?, →ISBN- commoncountableuncountableThe process of sexual development that produces secondary sex characteristics and makes a person capable of reproducing sexually.
- countableuncountableThe age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction.
As shown in Figure 14.4 of the textbook, children reach puberty at different ages in different countries; within those nations, children living in cities tend to reach puberty earlier than those living in rural areas.
2009, The Development of Children Study Guide, →ISBN, page 241
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpūbertās“the age of maturity, manhood”
- Old Frenchpuberté
- Middle Englishpuberte
- Englishpuberty
From Middle English puberte, from Old French puberté, from Latin pūbertās (“the age of maturity, manhood”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἥβη, ἐφηβεία
- ἥβη (hḗbē)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- ἐφηβεία (ephēbeía)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Arabic بُلُوغ
- بُلُوغ (bulūḡ)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Bengali বয়ঃসন্ধি, বয়ঃসন্ধিকাল
- বয়ঃসন্ধি (boẏoḥśondhi)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- বয়ঃসন্ধিকাল (boẏoḥśondhikal)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Bulgarian пуберте́т, пуберте́т
- пуберте́т (pubertét)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- пуберте́т (pubertét)developmental phase
- ю́ношество (júnošestvo)developmental phase
Catalan pubertat
- pubertatage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Chinese Mandarin 青春期, 思春期
- 青春期 (qīngchūnqī)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- 思春期 (sīchūnqī)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- 發情 /发情 (fāqíng)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- 發身 /发身 (fāshēn)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- 發育期 /发育期 (fāyùqī)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Czech puberta
- pubertaage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Danish pubertet
- pubertetage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Dutch puberteit
- puberteitage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Esperanto pubereco
- puberecoage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Finnish murrosikä, puberteetti
- murrosikäage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- puberteettiage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- varhaismurrosikäage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
French puberté
- pubertéage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
German Geschlechtsreife, geschlechtsreifes Alter
- Geschlechtsreifeage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- geschlechtsreifes Alterage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- Geschlechtsreifungdevelopmental phase
- Reifezeitdevelopmental phase
- Pubertätdevelopmental phase
Greek εφηβεία
- εφηβεία (efiveía)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Hindi यौवनारंभ, वयःसंधि
- यौवनारंभ (yauvnārambh)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- वयःसंधि (vayaḥsandhi)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Hungarian serdülőkor, pubertás
- serdülőkorage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- pubertásage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Indonesian usia pancaroba, pubesens
- usia pancarobaage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- pubesensage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Italian pubertà
- pubertàage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Japanese 思春期
- 思春期 (shishunki)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Korean 사춘기
- 사춘기 (sachun'gi)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Latin pūbertās
- pūbertāsage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Malay baligh, puberti
- balighage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- pubertiage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Māori pūhuruhurutanga
- pūhuruhurutangaage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Norwegian Bokmål pubertet
- pubertetage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Polish okres dojrzewania płciowego, dojrzewanie płciowe
- okres dojrzewania płciowegoage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- dojrzewanie płciowedevelopmental phase
- pokwitaniedevelopmental phase
Portuguese puberdade
- puberdadeage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Romanian pubertate
- pubertateage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Russian полова́я зре́лость, полово́е созрева́ние
- полова́я зре́лость (polovája zrélostʹ)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- полово́е созрева́ние (polovóje sozrevánije)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Spanish pubertad
- pubertadage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Swedish pubertet
- pubertetage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Tagalog mulansuplingan
- mulansuplinganage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Thai ความเป็นหนุ่มสาว, วัยแรกรุ่น
- ความเป็นหนุ่มสาวage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- วัยแรกรุ่นage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Turkish ergenlik dönemi
- ergenlik dönemiage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Ukrainian статева зрілість
- статева зрілість (stateva zrilistʹ)age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Vietnamese dậy thì
- dậy thìage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Welsh glasoed, blaenaeddfedrwydd
- glasoedage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
- blaenaeddfedrwyddage at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
Cite this entry
APA
puberty. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puberty
MLA
“puberty.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puberty. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “puberty,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puberty.
Source: puberty on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.