frühreif

German

Etymology

From früh (early) +‎ reif (mature).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfʁyːˌʁaɪ̯f/
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Hyphenation: früh‧reif

Adjective

frühreif (strong nominative masculine singular frühreifer, comparative frühreifer, superlative am frühreifsten)

  1. (of a plant) precocious, early
    Synonym: früh
  2. (of a person) precocious, forward, advanced beyond one’s age
    Synonyms: frühentwickelt, seinem Alter voraus

Usage notes

  • Perhaps to a greater degree than English precocious, the German word tends to imply premature behaviour (especially sexual activity) when used of people in their early teens. The synonym frühentwickelt has less of this connotation.

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

  • frühreif” in Duden online
  • frühreif” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache