puer aeternus

English

Etymology

From Latin puer aeternus (“eternal boy”) (in Ovid, Metamorphoses), after use in German by Carl Jung.

Noun

puer aeternus (plural pueri aeterni)

  1. (psychology) An archetype of eternal youth; (loosely) a man who remains emotionally childlike. [from 20th c.]
    • 2017, David Friend, The Naughty Nineties:
      Michael Jackson, the self-proclaimed King of Pop, eccentric puer aeternus, and singer-songwriter-dancer-entrepreneur, agrees to an out-of-court settlement in a child-molestation suit, reportedly paying out $20 million to settle one of a series of sex-abuse charges brought against him.

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

See also

Further reading

Spanish

Noun

puer aeternus m (uncountable)

  1. inner child
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.