second childhood
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈsɛkənd ˈʧaɪldhʊd/
- Archaic
:
segunda infancia
- After retiring, he seemed to enter a second childhood, enjoying toys and games he had loved as a child.
Examples
-
My father's death was not unexpected, and perhaps not even unwelcome, for he was eighty-two years old and had for some years been lost in a second childhood.
Fiction book (1999) -
Babies, old folks in second childhood are delighted.
-
Charles, sometimes I think you're in your second childhood.
-
But this second childhood was hurried along by the needs of survival.
Fiction book (1995) -
As we cleaned up after dinner, she talked non-stop about Daddy's duty as Uncle Jim's brother, about Daddy being hesitant because he was the youngest brother, about the O'Donovan men having no sense in some matters, and about men in their fifties being in second childhood.
Fiction book (1995) -
Many elderly people find comfort in their second childhood, where they rediscover simple joys and playfulness.
-
As her health declined, she entered a second childhood, often forgetting adult responsibilities and behaving like a child.
Synonyms
7
7.3
A loss of mental or physical strength in old age often causing memory loss and confusion
2
9.3
A period late in life when the mind becomes weak and foolish
A condition where a person keeps baby body or mind features past the usual age
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'second' (another) and 'childhood', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer 'a second period of being a child'. However, the conventional sense — a metaphorical, age-related regression or mental decline in old age — is an idiomatic extension that requires cultural/figurative knowledge beyond literal composition, making the meaning only partially predictable.
Etymology
Second childhood paints the image of someone having a childhood a second time later in life. So it is used to say a person becomes 'childish' again when they get old.