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puer·ile

(pyrīl′, pwĕr-, pyər-, -əl)

adj.

1. Immature, especially in being silly or trivial; childish. See Synonyms at young.

2. Archaic Belonging to childhood; juvenile.

[Latin puerīlis, from puer, child, boy; see pau-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

puer·ile·ly adv.

puer′ili·ty (-ĭlĭ-tē), puerile·ness (-əl-nĭs, -īl-) n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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