aging

noun

the length of time during which a being or thing has existed; length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to: trees of unknown age; His age is 20 years.

a period of human life, measured by years from birth, usually marked by a certain stage or degree of mental or physical development and involving legal responsibility and capacity: the age of discretion; the age of consent; The state raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 years.

the particular period of life at which a person becomes naturally or conventionally qualified or disqualified for anything: He was over age for military duty.

one of the periods or stages of human life: a person of middle age.

advanced years; old age: His eyes were dim with age.

a particular period of history, as distinguished from others; a historical epoch: the age of Pericles; the Stone Age; the age of electronic communications.

the period of history contemporary with the span of an individual's life: He was the most famous architect of the age.

a generation or a series of generations: ages yet unborn.

a great length of time: I haven't seen you for an age. He's been gone for ages.

10.

the average life expectancy of an individual or of the individuals of a class or species: The age of a horse is from 25 to 30 years.

11.

Psychology. the level of mental, emotional, or educational development of a person, especially a child, as determined by various tests and based on a comparison of the individual's score with the average score for persons of the same chronological age.

12.

Geology.

a period of the history of the earth distinguished by some special feature: the Ice Age.

a unit of geological time, shorter than an epoch, during which the rocks comprising a stage were formed.

13.

any of the successive periods in human history divided, according to Hesiod, into the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages.

14.

Cards.

Poker. the first player at the dealer's left. Compare edge ( def 10a ).

eldest hand.

verb (used without object)

15.

to grow old: He is aging rapidly.

16.

to mature, as wine, cheese, or wood: a heavy port that ages slowly.

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verb (used with object)

17.

to make old; cause to grow or seem old: Fear aged him overnight.

18.

to bring to maturity or a state fit for use: to age wine.

19.

to store (a permanent magnet, a capacitor, or other similar device) so that its electrical or magnetic characteristics become constant.

20.

to expose (a dye or dyed cloth) to steam or humid air in order to fix the dye.

21.

to stabilize the electrical properties of (a device) by passing current through it.

Idioms

22.

of age, Law.

being any of several ages, usually 21 or 18, at which certain legal rights, as voting or marriage, are acquired.

being old enough for full legal rights and responsibilities.

Origin:
1225–75; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French aage, eage, equivalent to aé (< Latin aetātem accusative of ae(vi)tās age; aev(um) time, lifetime + -itās -ity) + -age -age; (v.) Middle English agen, derivative of the noun

Related forms

in·ter·age, adjective

pre·age, verb, pre·aged, pre·ag·ing.

sub·age, noun

un·ag·ing, adjective

Synonyms
6. Age, epoch, era, period all refer to an extent of time. Age usually implies a considerable extent of time, especially one associated with a dominant personality, influence, characteristic, or institution: the age of chivalry. Epoch and era are often used interchangeably to refer to an extent of time characterized by changed conditions and new undertakings: an era ( or epoch ) of invention. epoch sometimes refers especially to the beginning of an era: the steam engine—an epoch in technology. A period may be long or short, but usually has a marked condition or feature: the glacial period; a period of expansion. 16. ripen, mellow, develop.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To aging

Collins

World English Dictionary

age (eɪdʒ)

—n
1.	the period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live: the age of a tree; what age was he when he died?; the age of a horse is up to thirty years
2.	the period of existence of an object, material, group, etc: the age of this table is 200 years
3.	a. a period or state of human life: he should know better at his age; she had got beyond the giggly age
	b. (as modifier): age group
4.	the latter part of life
5.	a. a period of history marked by some feature or characteristic; era
	b. (capital when part of a name): the Middle Ages; the Space Age
6.	generation: the Edwardian age
7.	geology, palaeontol
	a. a period of the earth's history distinguished by special characteristics: the age of reptiles
	b. the period during which a stage of rock strata is formed; a subdivision of an epoch
8.	myth any of the successive periods in the legendary history of man, which were, according to Hesiod, the golden, silver, bronze, heroic, and iron ages
9.	informal (often plural) a relatively long time: she was an age washing her hair; I've been waiting ages
10.	psychol achievement age See also mental age the level in years that a person has reached in any area of development, such as mental or emotional, compared with the normal level for his chronological age
11.	age before beauty (often said humorously when yielding precedence) older people take precedence over younger people
12.	of age adult and legally responsible for one's actions (usually at 18 or, formerly, 21 years)

—vb , ages, ageing, aging, aged
13.	to grow or make old or apparently old; become or cause to become old or aged
14.	to begin to seem older: to have aged a lot in the past year
15.	brewing to mature or cause to mature

[C13: via Old French from Vulgar Latin aetatīcum (unattested), from Latin aetās, ultimately from aevum lifetime; compare aeon]

ageing or aging (ˈeɪdʒɪŋ)

—n
1.	the process of growing old or developing the appearance and characteristics of old age
2.	the change of properties that occurs in some metals after heat treatment or cold working

—*adj*
3.	becoming or appearing older or elderly: an ageing car
4.	giving or creating the appearance of age or elderliness: that dress is really ageing on her

aging or aging

—n

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

age

c.1300, "long but indefinite period in human history," from O.Fr. aage, from V.L. *aetaticum (cf. Sp. edad, It. eta, Port. idade "age"), from L. aetatem (nom. aetas), "period of life," from aevum "lifetime, eternity, age," from PIE base *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (see

eon). Meaning "time something has lived, particular length or stage of life" is from early 14c. Used especially for "old age" since mid-14c. Expelled native eld. The verb meaning "to grow old" is from late 14c. Age-group attested from 1904, originally a term in the science of demographics.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

age (āj)
n.
The length of time that one has existed; duration of life. v.

To become old.
To manifest traits associated with old age.

aging ag·ing (ā'jĭng)
n.

The process of growing old or maturing.
The gradual changes in the structure of a mature organism that occur normally over time and increase the probability of death.

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

AGE
acute gastroenteritis

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Age definition

used to denote the period of a man's life (Gen. 47:28), the maturity of life (John 9:21), the latter end of life (Job 11:17), a generation of the human race (Job 8:8), and an indefinite period (Eph. 2:7; 3:5, 21; Col. 1:26). Respect to be shown to the aged (Lev. 19:32). It is a blessing to communities when they have old men among them (Isa. 65:20; Zech. 8:4). The aged supposed to excel in understanding (Job 12:20; 15:10; 32:4, 9; 1 Kings 12:6, 8). A full age the reward of piety (Job 5:26; Gen. 15:15).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences

Modern science has harnessed that feature to eliminate wrinkles on the faces of

an aging population.

Aging isn't the only factor responsible for memory loss.

New insights into how cells cope with stress could help combat neurological

diseases and reduce the ravages of aging.

The aging of the human race has been faster than anyone could have imagined a

few decades ago.

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Matching Quote

"You are truly the generation in the middle! You have at once aging parents as well as maturing children to cope with, and you are not granted the deference accorded age, or the indulgence given the young."

-Helene S. Arnstein