youth

noun

• The quality or state of being young.

  "Her youth and beauty attracted him to her."

• The part of life following childhood; the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood.

  "I made many mistakes in my youth, but learned from them all."

• A young person.

  "There was a group of youths hanging around the parking lot, reading fashion magazines and listening to music."

• A young man; a male adolescent or young adult.
• (used with a plural or singular verb) Young persons, collectively.