PUBERTY

puberty, pubescence

(noun) the time of life when sex glands become functional

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

puberty (countable and uncountable, plural puberties)

A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.

(more common) The process of sexual development that produces secondary sex characteristics and makes a person capable of reproducing sexually.

The age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction.

The period when a plant begins to flower.

Meronyms

• (process of adolescence): thelarche, pubarche, growth spurt, menarche, gonadarche, adrenarche

Source: Wiktionary

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Pu"ber*ty, n. Etym: [L. pubertas, fr. puber, pubes, adult: cf. F. puberté.]

1. The earliest age at which persons are capable of begetting or bearing children, usually considered, in temperate climates, to be about fourteen years in males and twelve in females.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: The period when a plant first bears flowers.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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