infant

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in·fant

(ĭn′fənt)

1. A child in the earliest period of life, especially before he or she can walk.

2. Law A person under the legal age of majority; a minor.

3. A very young nonhuman mammal, especially a primate.

adj.

1. Of or being in infancy.

2. Intended for infants or young children.

3. Newly begun or formed: an infant enterprise.

[Middle English, from Old French enfant, from Latin īnfāns, īnfant-, from īnfāns, not able to speak, young : in-, not; see in-¹ + fāns, present participle of fārī, to speak; see bhā- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

infant

(ˈɪnfənt)

1. a child at the earliest stage of its life; baby

2. (Law) law another word for minor¹⁰

3. (Education) Brit a young schoolchild, usually under the age of seven

4. a person who is beginning or inexperienced in an activity

5. (modifier)

a. of or relating to young children or infancy

b. designed or intended for young children

adj

6. in an early stage of development; nascent: an infant science or industry.

7. (Law) law of or relating to the legal status of infancy

[C14: from Latin infāns, literally: speechless, from in-¹ + fārī to speak]

ˈinfantˌhood n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•fant

(ˈɪn fənt)

n.

1. a child during the earliest period of its life, esp. before it can walk; baby.

2. Law. a person below the age of majority; minor.

3. a beginner, as in experience or learning; novice.

4. anything in the first stage of existence or progress.

adj.

5. of or pertaining to infants or infancy.

6. being in infancy.

7. being in the earliest stage.

[1350–1400; Middle English enfaunt < Anglo-French < Latin infantem, acc. infāns small child, literally, one unable to speak =in- in-³ + fāns, present participle of fārī to speak]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

infant - a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk; "the baby began to cry again"; "she held the baby in her arms"; "it sounds simple, but when you have your own baby it is all so different"

babe, baby

blue baby - an infant born with a bluish color; usually has a defective heart

cherub - a sweet innocent baby

child, kid - a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age; "they had three children"; "they were able to send their kids to college"

abandoned infant, foundling - a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown

godchild - an infant who is sponsored by an adult (the godparent) at baptism

neonate, newborn, newborn baby, newborn infant - a baby from birth to four weeks

nurseling, nursling, suckling - an infant considered in relation to its nurse

papoose, pappoose - an American Indian infant

test-tube baby - a baby conceived by fertilization that occurs outside the mother's body; the woman's ova are removed and mixed with sperm in a culture medium - if fertilization occurs the blastocyte is implanted in the woman's uterus

war baby - conceived or born during war

infant

noun

1. baby, child, babe, toddler, tot, wean (Scot.), little one, bairn (Scot.), suckling, newborn child, babe in arms, sprog (slang), munchkin (informal, chiefly U.S.), neonate, rug rat (slang), littlie (Austral. informal), ankle-biter (Austral. slang) young mums with infants in prams

adjective

1. early, new, developing, young, growing, initial, dawning, fledgling, newborn, immature, embryonic, emergent, nascent, unfledged The infant company was based in Germany.

Quotations
"At first the infant,"
"Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms" [William Shakespeare As You Like It]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

infant

noun

1. A very young child:

babe, baby, bambino, neonate, newborn, nursling.

Idiom: bundle of joy.

2. Law. One who is not yet legally of age:

child, juvenile.

Law: minor.

adjective

Being in an early period of growth or development:

green, immature, juvenile, young, youthful.

Translations

طِفْل، قاصِر

kojenecdětskýdítě

spædbarnbabygrundskole

Säugling Baby

infano

infante menor nene párvulo

imeväinenpikkulapsi

enfant nourrisson

csecsemõcsecsemőkisbabakiskorú

smábarn

infante infanzia minore minorenne bambina

infans

kūdikystė

bērna-bērnudārzsmazbērnszīdaiņa-zīdainis

zuigeling

bebeluş

dete

spädbarn

bebekçok küçük çocuk

婴儿幼儿

infant

[ˈɪnfənt]

A. N → niño/a m/f (Jur) → menor mf de edad
the infant Jesus → el niño Jesús

B. CPD infant class N → clase f de párvulos
infant mortality N → mortandad f or mortalidad f infantil
infant school N (Brit) centro de educación primaria (primer ciclo)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

infant

[ˈɪnfənt] n

(= baby) → nourrisson m

(= young child) → petit(e) enfant m/f infant carrier, infant soninfant carrier n → porte-bébé m

infant

n (= baby) → Säugling m; (= young child) → Kleinkind nt; (Jur) → Minderjährige(r) mf; she teaches infants → sie unterrichtet Grundschulkinder; infant care → Säuglingspflege f; infant class (Brit) erste und zweite Grundschulklasse; infant death → Säuglingstod m, → Tod m → im ersten Lebensjahr; infant formula → Säuglingsnahrung f; infant seat → Kindersitz m

adj (= new) democracy, industry etc → jung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

infant

[ˈɪnfənt] n → bambino/a (Law) → minorenne m/f, minore m/f

infant

(ˈinfənt) noun

a baby or very young child. the baptism of infants; (also adjective) an infant school.

ˈinfancy noun

the state or time of being a baby. They had two children who died in infancy.

in·fant

n. infante, lactante.

infant

n bebé mf, recién nacido -da mf, nene -na mf (fam)

References in classic literature ?

If you remember that Infant who told a tale to Eustace Cleever the novelist, you will remember that he became a baronet with a vast estate.

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Here, having spent some minutes on his knees--a custom which he never broke through on any account--he was preparing to step into bed, when, upon opening the cloathes, to his great surprize he beheld an infant, wrapt up in some coarse linen, in a sweet and profound sleep, between his sheets.

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'this is the infant phenomenon--Miss Ninetta Crummles.'

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So when in time a son was born the infant's feet were riveted together and he was left to die on Mount Cithaeron.

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A small ragged girl dragged a red, bawling infant along the crowded ways.

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When the young woman -- the mother of this child -- stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress.

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The eldest of the comers, a girl who wore a triangular shawl, its corners draggling on the stubble, carried in her arms what at first sight seemed to be a doll, but proved to be an infant in long clothes.

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Prince Andrew ran to the door; the scream ceased and he heard the wail of an infant.

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"Of course it's just the same THING; but a baby has got to be called babe or infant in a circular, the same as it is in poetry!

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The infant is laid in a wooden trough, by way of cradle.

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I, their eldest child, was born at Naples, and as an infant accompanied them in their rambles.

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A SNAKE, having made his hole close to the porch of a cottage, inflicted a mortal bite on the Cottager's infant son.