Noah Webster
Youth
YOUTH, noun Yuth. [G.]
1. The part of life that succeeds to childhood. In a general sense, youth denotes the whole early part of life, from infancy to manhood; but it is not unusual to divide the stages of life into infancy, childhood, youth and manhood. In this sense the word can have no plural.
Those who pass their youth in vice, are justly condemned to spend their age in folly.
2. A young man. In this sense it has a plural.
Seven youths from Athens yearly sent--
3. A young person, male or female.
4. Young persons, collectively.
It is fit to youth to read the best authors first.