olden

American  

[ohl-duhn] / ˈoʊl dən /

adjective

Literary.

1. of or relating to the distant past or bygone times; ancient.

2. old.

---

olden British  

/ ˈəʊldən /

adjective

1. an archaic or poetic word for old

   in olden days

   in olden times

---

Etymology

Origin of olden

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at old, -en ²

Explanation

Olden describes times that happened long ago. As the composer Cole Porter once wrote, "In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. But now, God knows. Anything goes." You can use this old-fashioned adjective to talk about bygone days or things that happened, like in a fairytale, "once upon a time." Olden almost always describes "days," or sometimes "times." While many older people like to talk about how much better the olden days were, there are plenty of them who appreciate things like the Internet and mobile phones, who don't miss the olden days at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

olden

Way back in olden times — seven days ago — Goldman Sachs lifted its year-end gold price target to $5,400 from $4,900.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026

In the olden days, you might have to lie about how rich you are and maybe borrow a car.

From Salon ● May 21, 2025

"I do have to deal with quite a lot of incoming, what you would have called flak in the olden days, but now they call it trolling," he said.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025

It’s like the olden days when illiterate people needed the town scribe to read and write their letters, except most nonspeakers are not illiterate.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2023

I make my own way down the stairs and out the door hoping my pals won’t see me with boys who wear kilts and girls with white teeth and fancy dresses from olden times.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt