juniority

junior ► ADJECTIVE 1) of or relating to young or younger people. 2) Brit. of, for, or denoting schoolchildren aged 7 11. 3) N. Amer. of or for students in the third year of a four-year course at college or high school. 4) (after a name) denoting the younger of two with the same name in a family. 5) low or lower in rank or status.

► NOUN 1) a person who is a specified number of years younger than someone else: he's five years her junior. 2) Brit. a child at a junior school. 3) N. Amer. a student in the third year at college or high school. 4) (in sport) a young competitor, typically under 16 or 18. 5) N. Amer. informal a nickname for one's son. 6) a person with low rank or status.

DERIVATIVES juniority noun.

ORIGIN Latin, from juvenis 'young' .