# infant

Pronunciation: say "IN-funt" /ˈɪn.fənt/

## Noun

1. A very young child, from birth to between six months and two years old, who needs almost constant care and attention.
   - Simple: A baby in its first year or two of life, who needs almost constant care.
   - _The infant cried whenever she was set down in the crib._
   - _Doctors advise that an infant be fed on demand during the first months._
2. A person who has not yet reached the age of legal majority.
   - Simple: A person who is not yet old enough to be treated as an adult under the law.
   - _The property was held in trust until the infant came of age._
   - _A contract made by an infant can often be canceled at his choosing._
4. A child attending an infant school, or in the earliest years of a UK primary school. *(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: In the UK, a young schoolchild in the first years of primary school.
   - _The infant struggled to reach the high coat pegs in the classroom._
   - _Each morning the infants gathered on the carpet for the register._

## Adjective

3. In an early stage of development; just beginning and still small, close to where it started.
   - Simple: In a very early stage, just starting to grow or develop and still small.
   - _The infant tech sector showed promise despite its tiny size._
   - _These ideas were still infant, barely sketched out on paper._
5. Relating to the earlier half of primary school education in the UK. *(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: Having to do with the first years of primary school in the UK.
   - _He moved from the infant department to teach the older pupils._
   - _The infant curriculum focuses on early reading and simple counting._

## Noun

6. A young man of noble or aristocratic birth. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A young person from a noble or wealthy family.

## Verb

7. To bear or bring forth a child; more generally, to produce or give rise to something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To give birth to a child, or to bring something into being.
   - _Physicians of the age believed cold humors could infant disease within the body._
   - _They prayed she might infant a son to carry on the line._

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfāns, a noun use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', formed from īn- ('not') plus fāns, the present participle of for ('to speak'). It is a doublet of infante.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/infant (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).