ˈinfənsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin infantia, from infant-, infans infant + -ia -y
1. : the state or period of being an infant : the first part of life : early childhood — called also babyhood
2. : the beginning or early period of existence
mechanical engineering was then in its infancy — O.S.Nock
infancy of a city
3. : the legal status of an infant or one under age or under the age of twenty-one years : nonage , minority
4. : the initial or very early state (as of a river) in a cycle of erosion