"state or condition of being an adult," 1850, from adult (adj.) + -hood. Adultness is attested from 1731.
Entries linking to adulthood
adult adj.
1530s (but not common until mid-17c.) "grown, mature," from Latin adultus "grown up, mature, adult, ripe," past participle of adolescere "grow up, come to maturity, ripen," from ad "to" (see ad-) + alescere "be nourished," hence, "increase, grow up," inchoative of alere "to nourish," from a suffixed form of PIE root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish."
The meaning "mature in attitude or outlook" is from 1929. As a euphemism for "pornographic," it dates to 1958 and does no honor to the word. In the old British film-rating system, A indicated "suitable for exhibit to adult audiences," and thus, implicitly, unsuitable for children (1914).
-hood
word-forming element meaning "state or condition of being," from Old English -had "condition, quality, position" (as in cildhad "childhood," preosthad "priesthood," werhad "manhood"), cognate with German -heit/-keit, Dutch -heid, Old Frisian and Old Saxon -hed, all from Proto-Germanic *haidus "manner, quality," literally "bright appearance," from PIE (s)kai- (1) "bright, shining" (Cognates: Sanskrit ketu "brightness, appearance"). Originally a free-standing word (see hade); in Modern English it survives only in this suffix.