paed(o)-

Also ped(o)‑, especially in the US.

Child; relating to children.

Greek pais, paid‑, child, boy.

The part of medicine called paediatrics deals with children and their diseases, while paedodontics (Greek odous, odont‑, tooth) is the branch of dentistry that deals with children's teeth. A pedagogue is an old term for a teacher, especially a strict or pedantic one, but in ancient Greece meant a slave (paidagōgos) who accompanied a child to school (Greek agōgos, guide). A paedophile is a person sexually attracted to children, while pederasty (less commonly paederasty) (Greek erastēs, lover) is sexual activity involving a man and a boy. In zoology, paedogenesis, also called neoteny, refers to an animal that becomes sexually mature while it is still in its larval or juvenile form.