Juniors

How to spell juniors

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce juniors

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does juniors mean?

1. nounPeople who are younger or who hold a lower rank or less senior position than others.

Juniors in a sentence

• The firm pairs new juniors with an experienced mentor for their first year.

• The tennis club runs a separate weekend session for the juniors.

Where does juniors come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes straight back to the Latin junior, which was the comparative form of juvenis, meaning 'young' or 'youthful', so junior literally meant 'younger'. Romans used it to mark the younger of two people sharing a name, much as English still appends 'Junior' to a son who carries his father's name. English borrowed the word in the late 1500s, first as an adjective describing the younger or lower-ranking of two, and the noun use for such people followed naturally. The same juvenis root survives in the everyday words 'juvenile' and 'rejuvenate', both of which carry that idea of youth. The plural simply adds -s, and the spelling trap is the quiet 'io' before the r, since the ending sounds like a single blurred syllable that tempts writers to drop a letter.

How the word is built

• junior (from Latin junior: younger)
• -s (plural)