youngling
youngling Lexical Profile
youngling Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A young person, child, or youth; also, a novice or newcomer.
"The village elder gathered the curious younglings around the hearth to tell them stories of the old kingdom."
A young animal or immature plant.
"The mother wolf stood guard at the mouth of the den while her younglings tumbled over one another in the grass."
• adjective
Young or youthful in age or development (primarily literary or archaic).
"The poet described the youngling shoots of spring pushing through the thawed earth."
Word Nuance & Usage
Primarily used in literary, archaic, or fantasy contexts; in modern popular culture, it is widely recognized from the Star Wars franchise as a term for a child in Jedi training.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English geongling ('youth, young man'), formed from geong ('young') and the noun suffix -ling.