puberty
nounUK /ˈpjuː.bə.ti/ · CA, US /ˈpju.bɚ.ti/
Etymology From Middle English puberte, from Old French puberté, from Latin pūbertās (“the age of maturity, manhood”).
1
A developmental phase brought about by the action of hormones as part of the maturing process. For humans, there are three in total.
- Girls undergoing puberty show an increase in the total output of cortisol, which is related to stress, while boys show little increase.2014, Lewis Wolpert, Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man?, →ISBN:
2
Common The process of sexual development that produces secondary sex characteristics and makes a person capable of reproducing sexually.
3
The age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction.
- As shown in Figure 14.4 of the textbook, children reach puberty at different ages in different countries; within those nations, children living in cities tend to reach puberty earlier than those living in rural areas.2009, The Development of Children Study Guide, →ISBN, page 241:
- Derived terms
- delayed puberty, impuberty, minipuberty, peripuberty, postpuberty, precocious puberty, prepuberty, pseudopuberty, puberty blocker, puberty inhibitor, second puberty
- Meronyms
- thelarche, pubarche, growth spurt, menarche, gonadarche, adrenarche