1. The state or period of being an infant; the first part of life;
early childhood.
The babe yet lies in smiling infancy.
Milton.
Their love in early infancy began.
Dryden.
2. The first age of anything; the beginning or early period of
existence; as, the infancy of an art.
The infancy and the grandeur of Rome.
Arbuthnot.
3. (Law) The state or condition of one under age, or under the age of
twenty-one years; nonage; minority.
In*fan"dous (?), a. [L. infandus; pref. in- not + fari to speak.] Too
odious to be expressed or mentioned. [Obs.] Howell.
In*fang"thef (?), n. [AS. in-fangen- þeóf; in in, into + fangen taken
(p. p. of fn to take) + þeóf thief.] (O. Eng. Law) The privilege
granted to lords of certain manors to judge thieves taken within the
seigniory of such lords. Cowell.
In"fant (?), n. [L. infans; pref. in- not + fari to speak: cf. F.
enfant, whence OE. enfaunt. See Fame, and cf. Infante, Infanta.] 1. A
child in the first period of life, beginning at his birth; a young
babe; sometimes, a child several years of age.
And tender cries of infants pierce the ear.