1. Qui n'est guère avancé en âge. Un jeune enfant.
2. Un groupe de jeunes.
1. Befitting a young child; SYN. childly.
2. Exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity; SYN. dewey-eyed, simple.
1. At or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time.
2. Expected in the near future.
3. Being or occurring at an early stage of development.
4. Very young.
5. (Linguistics) Of an early stage in the development of a language or literature.
Of the distant past; SYN. former, other.
ETYM Latin immaturus; pref. im- not + maturus mature, ripe. Related to Mature.
1. Characteristic of a lack of maturity.
2. Lacking in development; SYN. unformed.
3. Not yet mature.
ETYM The regular comparative of this word is wanting, its place being supplied by less, or, rarely, lesser. Related to Lesser.
1. Small; not large; of small stature; SYN. small.
2. Very young; SYN. small.
3. Younger and (at least formerly) smaller than another though relative size is not the issue; SYN. younger.
4. Contemptibly narrow in outlook; SYN. petty, small, small-minded.
5. (Quantifier used with mass nouns) Small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none SYN. small.
1. (Used of living things especially persons) In an early period of life or development or growth; SYN. immature.
2. Immature; behaving or appearing young.
3. Early.
Diète.
The practice of voluntarily going without food. It can be undertaken as a religious observance, a sign of mourning, a political protest (hunger strike), or for slimming purposes.
Fasting or abstinence from certain types of food or beverages occurs in most religious traditions. It is seen as an act of self-discipline that increases spiritual awareness by lessening dependence on the material world. In the Roman Catholic church, fasting is seen as a penitential rite, a means to express repentance for sin. The most commonly observed Christian fasting is in Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, and recalls the 40 days Christ spent in the wilderness. Roman Catholics and Orthodox usually fast before taking communion and monastic communities observe regular weekly fasts. Devout Muslims go without food or water between sunrise and sunset during the month of Ramadan.
Total abstinence from food for a limited period is prescribed by some naturopaths to eliminate body toxins or make available for recuperative purposes the energy normally used by the digestive system. Prolonged fasting can be dangerous. The liver breaks up its fat stores, releasing harmful by-products called ketones, which results in a condition called ketosis, which develops within three days, an early symptom of which is a smell of pear drops on the breath. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, severe depression, and irritability. Eventually the muscles and other body tissues become wasted, and death results.