# infant
## English
### Alternative forms

* infaunt (obsolete)

### Etymology

Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (“not”) + fāns, present participle of for (“to speak”). The verb is from Anglo-Norman enfanter, from the same Latin source. Doublet of infante.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɪn.fənt/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪnfənt
* Hyphenation: in‧fant

### Noun

infant (plural infants)
* A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.
    Synonym: baby
* (law) A minor.
** 1793, William Peere Williams, Samuel Compton Cox, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery, and of Some Special Cases Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench [1695-1735]: De Term. S. Trin. 1731, page 602:Thomas Humphrey Doleman died the 30th of August 1712, an infant, intestate and without issue; Lewis the next nephew died the 17th of April 1716, an infant about sixteen years old, having left his mother Mary Webb, ...
* (obsolete) A noble or aristocratic youth.
** 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:Retourned home, the royall Infant fell / Into her former fitt [...].

#### Derived terms

* floppy infant syndrome
* infant formula
* infant industry
* infant massage
* infant mortality
* infant respiratory distress syndrome
* infant safety seat
* infant school
* infant seat
* infant star
* junior infant
* Puerto Rican infant hypotonia syndrome
* senior infant
* terrible infant

#### Related terms

* infancy
* infanteer, infantier
* infante, infanta
* infanticide
* infantile
* infantry

#### Translations
### Verb

infant (third-person singular simple present infants, present participle infanting, simple past and past participle infanted)
* (obsolete) To bear or bring forth (a child); to produce, in general.
** 1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC:This worthy motto, "No bishop, no king," is […] infanted out of the same fears.

#### See also

* neonate
* newborn
* sudden infant death syndrome

### Anagrams

* Fintan

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnfantem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [iɱˈfan]
* IPA: (Balearic, Valencia) [iɱˈfant]

### Noun

infant m (plural infants)
* infant, child
* infante
* footsoldier

#### Derived terms

* infanteria
* infantesa

#### Related terms

* infància

#### Further reading

* “infant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Czech
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish infante, from Latin īnfāns.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɪnfant]
* Hyphenation: in‧fant

### Noun

infant m anim (female equivalent infantka)
* (historical) infante (son of the king of Spain or Portugal)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “infant”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “infant”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “infant”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## French
### Noun

infant m (plural infants, feminine infante)
* infant (title)

### Further reading

* “infant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Middle English
### Noun

infant
* Alternative form of infaunt

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish infante and Portuguese infante, from Latin īnfāns.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈin.fant/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -infant
* Syllabification: in‧fant

### Noun

infant m pers (female equivalent infantka)
* infante

#### Declension
### Further reading

* infant in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* infant in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Slovak
### Etymology

Derived from Spanish infante and Portuguese infante.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈinfant]

### Noun

infant m pers (female equivalent infantka)
* prince, infante (son of a king in Spain and historically Portugal)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “infant”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025