[age] n [ME, fr. OF aage, fr. (assumed) VL aetaticum, fr. L aetat-, aetas, fr. aevum lifetime--more at aye] (13c) 1 a: the time of life at which some particular qualification, power, or capacity arises or rests "the voting ~ is 18"; specif: majority b: one of the stages of life c: the length of an existence extending from the beginning to any given time "a boy
10. years of ~" d: lifetime e: an advanced stage of life
2: a period of time dominated by a central figure or prominent feature "the ~ of Pericles": as a: a period in history or human progress "the ~ of reptiles" "the ~ of exploration" b: a cultural period marked by the prominence of a particular item "entering the atomic ~" c: a division of geologic time that is usu. shorter than an epoch 3 a: the period contemporary with a person's lifetime or with his or her active life b: a long time--usu. used in pl. "haven't seen him in ~s" c: generation
4: an individual's development measured in terms of the years requisite for like development of an average individual syn see period
[2]age vb aged ; ag.ing or age.ing vi (14c) 1: to become old: show the effects or the characteristics of increasing age
2: to acquire a desirable quality (as mellowness or ripeness) by standing undisturbed for some time "letting cheese ~" ~ vt 1: to cause to become old
2: to bring to a state fit for use or to maturity -- ag.er n