Thirtysomething (term)

:"For the television show of the same name, see" Thirtysomething "(TV series)"

The term thirtysomething was initially introduced during the 1980s to describe a person of the baby boom generation, born during the 1940s and 1950s. It has now entered common usage in the English language to describe a person between the ages of 30 and 39.

On the model of quadragenarian for 40-49 years old, quinquagenarian for 50-59, and so on, "tricenarian" could be a valid term, but is not in common use. (although it does exist in some other languages; cf. French "trentenaire".)

Almost immediately after the introduction of the 1980s television show, "Thirtysomething", the term became a catch phrase used to designate baby boomers in their thirties. This cultural shift was reinforced by the Oxford English Dictionary, which added "thirtysomething" in 1993 (under the word "thirty") and defined the term as follows:

:"popularized as a catch-phrase by the U.S. television programme "thirtysomething", first broadcast in 1987...applied to members of the baby boom generation entering their thirties in the mid-1980s; also "attrib." or as "adj. phr." (hence, characteristic of the tastes and lifestyle of this group)."

The term twentysomething was introduced shortly afterward to describe a younger group. This was initially applied to Generation X.

The current crop of thirtysomethings are people born from , to CURRENTMONTHNAME CURRENTDAY (mostly considered as Generation X).

ee also

* Ageing
* Baby boomers
* Mid-life crisis
* Yuppies