ADOLESCENCE, Adolescencia, the state of youth;or that period of a person's age commencing from his infancy, and terminating at his full growth. See AGE.
The state of Adolescence lasts so long as the fibers continue to grow, either in magnitude or firmness. See FIBER, NUTRITION, etc.
It is commonly computed to be between 15 and 25, or even 30 years of age; though, in different constitutions, its terms are very different. The Romans usually reckoned it from 12 to 25 in boys; and to 21 in girls. See PUBERTY, etc. And yet, among their writers, Juvenis and Adolescens are frequently used indifferently, for any person under 45years.
The word is formed from the Latin adolesco, I grow.
The fibers being arrived at the degree of firmness, and tension sufficient to sustain the parts, no longer yield and give way to the efforts of the nutritious matter to extend them: So that their farther accretion is stopped from the very law of their nutrition. See GROWTH, DEATH, etc.
ADOLESCENCE
- Details
- Written by: Ephraïm Chambers
- Category: Unclassified