*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of teen

Clipping of teenager. For more synonyms see at Thesaurus:teenager.

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 5 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
adj

Of or having to do with teenagers; teenage

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of teenager. For more synonyms see at Thesaurus:teenager.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    }
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  "links": [
    [
      "teenager",
      "teenager#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of or having to do with teenagers; teenage"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old (inclusive). · A black teenager or a young black person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of teenager. For more synonyms see at Thesaurus:teenager.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": "teenager"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of teenager"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "teenager",
      "teenager#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "word": "тийн",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "tijn"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "word": "teen",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old (inclusive).",
        "A black teenager or a young black person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Internet",
        "derogatory"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Grief; sorrow; trouble. · Vexation; anger; hate.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tene, from Old English tēona, tēone, *tēon, from Proto-West Germanic *teun, from Proto-Germanic *teuną.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionteneenm
  • Inherited-form mentiontēonaang
  • Inherited-form mention*teungmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*teunągem-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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        "2": "ang",
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    ],
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      "teone#Old_English"
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      "Reconstruction:Old English/teon"
    ],
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    ],
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    ]
  ],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Grief; sorrow; trouble.",
        "Vexation; anger; hate."
      ],
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        "archaic",
        "obsolete"
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To excite; to provoke; to vex; to afflict; to injure. · To become angry or distressed.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tenen, from Old English tēonian, tȳnan (“to vex, annoy, provoke”), from Proto-West Germanic *tiunijan, from Proto-Germanic *tiunijaną.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "tēonian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English tēonian"
    },
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      },
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    }
  ],
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      "tenen",
      "tenen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tēonian",
      "teonian#Old_English"
    ],
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      "tȳnan",
      "tynan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*tiunijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/tiunijan"
    ],
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      "*tiunijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tiunijaną"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "To excite; to provoke; to vex; to afflict; to injure.",
        "To become angry or distressed."
      ],
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        "obsolete",
        "transitive",
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

To close, to shut; to enclose, to hedge or fence in.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tenen, tinen, from Old English tȳnan (“to fence, inclose, shut, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūnijan, from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence, enclosure”). Doublet of tine. Cognate with Dutch tuinen, German zäunen. Related to English town.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontenenenm
  • Inherited-form mentiontȳnanang · to fence, inclose, shut, close
  • Inherited-form mention*tūnijangmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*tūngmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*tūnągem-pro · fence, enclosure
  • Doublet mentiontineen
  • Cognate mentiontuinennl
  • Cognate mentionzäunende
  • Cognate mentiontownen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tine"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of tine"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "tuinen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch tuinen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "zäunen"
      },
      "expansion": "German zäunen"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "town"
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      "expansion": "English town"
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    ],
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    ],
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      "*tūn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/tūn"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tūną"
    ],
    [
      "tine",
      "tine#English"
    ],
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      "tuinen",
      "tuinen#Dutch"
    ],
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      "zäunen#German"
    ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for teen →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGVlbg