Kindergarten

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Kindergarten \Kin"der*gar`ten\, n. [G., lit., children's garden;
     kinder (pl. of kind child, akin to E. kin kindred) + garten
     garden.]
     1. A class within a primary school or a separate school for
        young children, usually between the ages of four and six
        years, designed to adapt children to the classroom


        environment before beginning academic training, on the
        theory that education should be begun by gratifying and
        cultivating the normal aptitude for exercise, play,
        observation, imitation, and construction; -- a name given
        by Friedrich Froebel, a German educator, who introduced
        this method of training, in rooms opening on a garden.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  kindergarten
       n : a preschool for children age 4 to 6 to prepare them for
           primary school