prepubertyn.adj.
/priːˈpjuːbəti/, U.S. /priˈpjubərdi/ The period of life preceding puberty, esp. the two or three years immediately before it. Frequently attributive or as adj.: occurring during this period.
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the world > people > person > young person > [noun] > adolescent > adolescence or puberty
pubertyc1384
adolescence?a1425
adolescency?a1475
in one's teens1596
pubes1637
pubescency1658
pubescence1822
teenhood1845
hog age1848
the awkward age1895
prepubescence1908
prepuberty1922
teenagery1950
teenagedness1952
jean-age1959
the world > people > person > young person > [adjective] > adolescent > relating to puberty
pubertal1858
post-pubertal1886
post-pubescent1904
prepubescent1904
post-puberty1911
prepuberty1922
1922 R. T. Frank Gynecol. & Obstetr. Pathol. iv. 74 Prepuberty.—Practically it begins with the time at which ‘budding into womanhood’ is first noticed and ends with the onset of the first menstruation.
1932 Amer. Jrnl. Dis. Children 43 329 We firmly believe that there is a prepuberty rise in basal metabolism.
1949 M. Mead Male & Female xiii. 280 For the old institutionalized hostilities of..girls' tears and boyish pranks, the new pre-puberty dating pattern is being substituted.
1976 Times 1 Sept. (Fashion Suppl.) p. vii/1 All three categories of clothing—male, female and pre-puberty.
1992 Jrnl. Abnormal Child Psychol. Feb. 16 Major depression and conduct disorder in prepuberty.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1922