Word.ws English Dictionary

once an adult, twice a child

once an adult, twice a child proverb: one is born as a child, grows to adulthood, and consequently enters old age, when one deteriorates and reverts to a childlike state.

Proverb

once an adult, twice a child

  1. One is born as a child, grows to adulthood, and consequently enters old age, when one deteriorates and reverts to a childlike state.
    • Two couples whose combined ages total 300 years were playing cards today and the nerve strain caused by the game was too much for the tired heart and nerves of one and she grew angry and ran home in tears. Once an adult, twice a child.1928 October 24, Q. Q. McIntyre, “Behind the News”, in The Daily Herald, volume XXXI, number 60, Biloxi, Miss.; Gulfport, Miss., page 2, column 6
    • It has been said of man, “Once an adult, twice a child.” Young children are by nature dependent, require protection and security. There comes a time when the child struggles to get out from under the parents’ protective covering and exercise self-determination; to progress from dependence to...1962, Ralph P[eter] Beatty, “[Aging, a Universal Problem] Dependence or Independence, Which?”, in The Senior Citizen, Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, →LCCN, part I (Aging and Retirement—A...

Examples of once an adult, twice a child in a sentence

  • It has been said of man, “Once an adult, twice a child.” Young children are by nature dependent, require protection and security.1962, Ralph P[eter] Beatty, “[Aging, a Universal Problem] Dependence or Independence, Which?”, in The Senior Citizen, Springfield, Ill....
  • Once an adult, twice a child – nothing surer than that!2013, Margaret Hawkins, chapter 7, in Deny Me Not, [County Wexford]: Bushel Press, →ISBN, page 250:

Forms of once an adult, twice a child

alternative formonce an adult and twice a child

Origin of once an adult, twice a child

Modern gender-neutralized form of once a man, twice a child (attested since the 16th century).

Questions about once an adult, twice a child

What does once an adult, twice a child mean?
Once an adult, twice a child means one is born as a child, grows to adulthood, and consequently enters old age, when one deteriorates and reverts to a childlike state.
How do you use once an adult, twice a child in a sentence?
It has been said of man, “Once an adult, twice a child.” Young children are by nature dependent, require protection and security.
What part of speech is once an adult, twice a child?
Once an adult, twice a child is a proverb.

Words near once an adult, twice a child in the dictionary

  1. once a man, twice a child
  2. once a thief, always a thief
  3. once a woman, twice a child
  4. once again
  5. once an adult and twice a child
  6. once an adult, twice a child
  7. once an awhile
  8. once and a while
  9. once and again
  10. once and away
  11. once and awhile

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: once an adult, twice a child (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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