elder
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See also: Elder
English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈeldə/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɛldə/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɛldɚ/
- Rhymes: -ɛldə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra, yldra, ieldra, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. The vowel change from a to e triggered by the following i is called umlaut or I-mutation.
Adjective
[edit]elder
- comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
- The elder of the two was also an elder statesman
- 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad[2]:
- She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.
Usage notes
[edit]- The normal comparative of old is older. The irregular form elder is sometimes used with family members, but is otherwise rare (except in fixed expressions such as elder statesman). Elder is generally limited to attributive position (my elder brother) and does not occur in predicative position (*my brother is elder). This also implies that elder cannot be followed by than.[1]
Synonyms
[edit]- geriatric, long in the tooth, on in years; see also Thesaurus:elderly
Translations
[edit]greater than another in age or seniority
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Noun
[edit]elder (plural elders)
- A leader of a community, of great age or seniority.
- We were presented to the village elder.
- 1995, Julius Evola, “The Two Paths in the Afterlife”, in Guido Stucco, transl., Revolt against the Modern World[3], Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, translation of Rivolta contro il mondo moderno, →ISBN, page 50:
- People saw in the elders, who were closer to death, the manifestation of the divine force that was thought to achieve its full liberation at death.
- 2022 August 25, Seyi Akiwowo, How to Stay Safe Online: A digital self-care toolkit for developing resilience and allyship, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
- I probably wouldn't be here talking about this very topic if it weren't for the few but mighty elders in the tech and gender rights spaces. Folks like South Africa-based Jan Moolman from the Association for Progressive Communications […]
- (now chiefly US) An old person.
- (Should we delete(+) this sense?) (relational, chiefly in the plural) One who is older than another.
- Respect your elders.
- One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
- 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:
- Carry your Head […] as your Elders have done.
- An officer of a church, sometimes having teaching responsibilities.
- A clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments.
- a travelling elder
- (Canada) An older Indigenous person respected as an authority figure, especially when in a counselling, consultative, or ceremonial role.
- At the friendship centre, you can arrange to meet with a social worker or an elder.
- (US, Mormonism) One ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood.
- After being a member of the Church for a while, Bill was ordained to the office of elder.
- Jack had been an elder for only a few days when he received a new calling.
- (US, Mormonism) A male missionary.
- The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.
- (Mormonism, often capitalized) Title for a male missionary; title for a general authority.
- One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.
- (Germanic paganism) A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.
Synonyms
[edit]- (older person): eld, mzee, senior; see also Thesaurus:old person
- (one who lived at an earlier period): antecessor, forerunner; see also Thesaurus:predecessor
Translations
[edit]older member, leader of a community
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old person
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one who is older than another
one who lived at an earlier period — see also predecessor
officer of a church
Mormonism: one ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood
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Mormonism: male missionary
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Mormonism: title for a male missionary or a general authority
Germanic paganism: pagan priest or priestess
Verb
[edit]elder (third-person singular simple present elders, present participle eldering, simple past and past participle eldered)
- (Quakerism) To admonish or reprove for improper conduct by the elders of the meeting.
- I was eldered for directly responding to someone else's message in meeting for worship.
Derived terms
[edit]Derived terms
Etymology 2
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Sambucus_nigra_004.jpg/220px-Sambucus_nigra_004.jpg)
Etymology tree
Middle English eldre
English elder
From Middle English eldre, eller, from Old English ellærn, from Proto-Germanic *elernaz, *eldernaz (compare Low German Elhorn, Elloorn).
Noun
[edit]elder (plural elders)
- A small tree, Sambucus nigra, having white flowers in a cluster, and edible purple berries.
- 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273:
- Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.
- Any of the other species of the genus Sambucus: small trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials with red, purple, or white/yellow berries (some of which are poisonous).
Synonyms
[edit]- (Sambucus nigra): black elder
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]Sambucus nigra
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Sambucus
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked: "small tree"
See also
[edit]Etymology 3
[edit]Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *aliþro (“udder”), from *alaną (“to nourish”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch elder (“udder”).[2]
Noun
[edit]elder
References
[edit]- ^ Treble, H. A. An A.B.C. of English Usage. American ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1937, page 133 [1]
- ^ “elder”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- “elder”, in Collins English Dictionary.
Anagrams
[edit]Basque
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio: (file)
Noun
[edit]elder inan
Norwegian Bokmål
[edit]Verb
[edit]elder
Norwegian Nynorsk
[edit]Noun
[edit]elder f
- indefinite plural of elde
Verb
[edit]elder
Old Swedish
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Old Norse eldr, from Proto-Germanic *ailidaz.
Noun
[edit]elder m
- fire
- a skin disease - possibly erysipelas
Declension
[edit]Declension of elder (strong a-stem)
Descendants
[edit]- Swedish: eld
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛldə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɛldə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (grow)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English non-lemma forms
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- American English
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- Canadian English
- en:Mormonism
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- en:Quakerism
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- en:Leaders
- en:Moschatel family plants
- en:People
- Basque terms with audio links
- Basque lemmas
- Basque nouns
- Basque inanimate nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Bokmål verb forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk noun forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk verb forms
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish lemmas
- Old Swedish nouns
- Old Swedish masculine nouns
- Old Swedish a-stem nouns