Entry · catalog no. 1107
grown
/ /ɡroʊn/ /GROHN
adjective · The South · 1900s
✓ Verified
1.
(1) Grown-up; fully adult and answerable for oneself ('I'm grown'). (2) Of a child: acting older than they are, stepping into adult airs or matters — 'acting grown,' 'grown folks' business.'
“Sit down somewhere — this is grown folks' business.”
Origin & Attribution
African American Vernacular use of "grown" for full, self-governing adulthood, and — turned on a child — for overstepping into adult talk or behavior. Central to the household phrase "grown folks' business," used to keep children out of adult matters. Long-standing in Black Southern speech; the phrase titles Victoria Christopher Murray's novel "Grown Folks Business" (2004).
mid-1900s
Standard in Black Southern households
2004
'Grown Folks Business' novel by Victoria Christopher Murray
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
The South · 1900s
Spoken by
Black speakers, esp. the South
$GROWNThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady76 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
58/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1950
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Victoria Christopher Murray, "Grown Folks Business" — novel · 2004
submitted
■
+ Cite a sourceDocumented AAVE usage ('grown folks' business') — reference · 2000s
submitted
See also