Preteens

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A developmental age group consisting of children aged approximately nine to twelve, marked by significant physical, emotional, and social changes as they transition toward adolescence
2. Referring to youngsters who are nearing their teenage years, typically between the ages of nine and twelve, as they experience notable shifts in interests and identity
3. A demographic category encompassing children generally aged nine to twelve, characterized by key growth and transformation in their physical, emotional, and social development

Etymology: "Preteens" is the plural of "preteen," a compound built from the prefix "pre-," meaning "before," and "teen," the familiar word for the years of being thirteen to nineteen. Put together, a preteen is someone just before the teenage years, which is why the term is applied to children roughly between nine and twelve. The prefix has a long pedigree. It descends from the Latin "prae," meaning "before" or "in front of," and reached English through Middle English, where "pre-" was already a productive element for attaching a sense of earlier time or position to a base word. English speakers then fused it with "teen," itself a word of Old English origin that once meant something like an injury or grief before it came to mean a number, leaving the modern "teen" years as a playful but precise label.

Synonyms: tweens, youths, adolescents

Antonyms: adults, seniors