age

齡 is composed of 齒 (teeth) and 令 (command, order). 齒 refers to teeth, the growth, loss, and changes in teeth clearly mark the stages of a person’s development, so 齒 came to be extended to mean age or years of life. 令 means to issue commands or instructions. Ancient people believed that the number of years a person lives is predetermined by heaven, as if following commands issued from above, therefore 齡 is used to represent age or years.