Puberty

(pā'bür-te.) [L. pubertas, from pubescere, to begin to have hair on the chin and sexual organs.] The period of life at which young people of both sexes are nubile. According to the Civil Law, P. occurs at 12 years in females, and 14 in males. The period varies somewhat in different climates, and in different individuals of the same climate. [s. 740]