mental age


noun Psychology.

the level of native mental ability or capacity of an individual, usually as determined by an intelligence test, in relation to the chronological age of the average individual at this level: a ten-year-old child with the mental age of a twelve-year-old; a mental age of twelve.
Compare achievement age.

Origin of mental age

First recorded in 1910–15

British Dictionary definitions for mental age

mental age

noun

psychol the mental ability of a child, expressed in years and based on a comparison of his test performance with the performance of children with a range of chronological ages See also intelligence quotient

Medical definitions for mental age

mental age

n.

A measure of mental development as determined by intelligence tests, generally restricted to children and expressed as the age at which that level is typically attained.