pubertijd

Dutch

Etymology

From puber (“teenager”) +‎ tijd (“time”). Originating as an eggcorn of puberteit (“puberty”) during the 1990s, its meaning is perceived to be shifted slightly based on its reinterpretation as a compound of puber and tijd, now referring to the time lived as a pubescent child, rather than to puberty itself (as a developmental phase or physiological process). As part of this reinterpretation, the stress is often shifted to the first syllable (conforming to the regular pattern of accentuation as a Dutch compound word), as opposed to the suffix accentuation found in the non-native term puberteit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (as eggcorn) /ˌpy.bərˈtɛi̯t/, (with regularized accentuation) /ˈpy.bərˌtɛi̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pu‧ber‧tijd
• Homophone: puberteit (as eggcorn; sometimes however the stress is shifted to the first syllable)

Noun

pubertijd m (uncountable) (uncommon)

1. pubescence; the time during which puberty takes place
2. Eggcorn of puberteit (“puberty”).

Usage notes

• Despite its incorporation in standard dictionaries such as Van Dale since the mid-2000s, this word is still often perceived as an incorrect variant of puberteit and indeed is still often used as an eggcorn in contexts where puberteit was intended instead, which is the far more commonly encountered form.

References

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “puber”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

Further reading

• pubertijd on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl