premature
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
premature/ˈpremətʃə(r)/
▶adjective
- 1 occurring or done before the proper time.
- 2 (of a baby) born before the end of the full term of gestation, especially three or more weeks before.
– derivatives
prematurely adverb,
prematurity noun.
prematurely adverb,
prematurity noun.
– origin ME: from L. praematurus ‘very early’, from prae ‘before’ + maturus ‘ripe’.
'premature' also found in these Oxford entries:
abort
- abruption
- albacore
- hypopituitarism
- incubator
- pre-ignition
- premature ejaculation
- progeria
- rainout
- untimely

