elder
1Origin of elder
1synonym study for elder
Words nearby elder
Other definitions for elder (2 of 2)
Origin of elder
2MORE ABOUT ELDER
What does elder mean?
Elder describes something or someone older. For example, if you have two sons, one is the elder son (the older one, born first) and one is the junior son (the younger one, born second).
Elder also describes being of higher rank, or more senior.
An elder is an old person. Old might depend on who you ask. To a 5-year-old child, a 50-year-old person might seem old, while to an 80-year-old, that 50-year-old is young. However, elder always means someone older than you.
An elder is also an influential person in a community, often a ruler or part of a committee of rulers, and often older or more senior than most people in the community.
An elder is also a tree in the honeysuckle family. Elderflowers and elderberries come from an elder tree.
Example: Of the queen’s two daughters, the elder became queen, while the younger became a great warrior.
Where does elder come from?
The first records of the term elder meaning “older” come from before the year 900.
It ultimately comes from the Old English word eldra.
The first records of the term elder referring to a type of tree also come from before the year 900. It ultimately comes from the Old English word ellaern.
Did you know … ?
What are some synonyms for elder?
What are some words that share a root or word element with elder?
What are some words that often get used in discussing elder?
What are some words elder may be commonly confused with?
How is elder used in real life?
Elder is a common word used to refer to someone older or more senior than the speaker. It’s also used to refer to trees or shrubs from the honeysuckle family.
Thanks for a great start to the day! @WillowWinsham signing off now, but #FolkloreThursday will return with @HerbalStorytell at 11am GMT for more fabulous proverbs, words of wisdom, and old sayings! (Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder: Netherlandish Proverbs via wikimedia commons) pic.twitter.com/fBnABWHMhw
— Folklore Thursday (@FolkloreThurs) November 5, 2020
Rise up stick, & stand still, stone
For King of England thou shalt be none
Thou & they men hoar stones shall be
And I myself an eldern treeThe witch’s curse before she turned a king & his army into the Rollright Stones and herself into an elder tree
#FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/U8TodwBWGm
— Hilary R Sparkes (@HilaryRSparkes) November 5, 2020
“ autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge” is why they are serenading each other. Or maybe they are summoning the elder gods, it’s hard to tell with owls.
— mediocrebirder (@tinajkl) September 20, 2022
Try using elder!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of elder?
A. youngster
B. senior
C. veteran
D. matriarch
How to use elder in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for elder (1 of 3)
- prior in rank, position, or office
- of a previous time; former