elder
UK /ˈɛldə/ · US /ˈɛldɚ/ adjective, noun, verb, proper noun
Forms elders eldering eldered Yelder
- adjective (card games) Closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.
- noun A leader or senior member of a tribe or community, often of considerable age, respected as an authority figure, especially in a counselling, consultative, or ceremonial role. “We were presented to the village elder.”
- noun (now chiefly US) An old person.
- noun (relational, chiefly in the plural, chiefly with possessive determiners) One who is older than another. “Respect your elders.”
- noun One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
- noun An officer of a church, sometimes having teaching responsibilities.
- noun A clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments. “a travelling elder”
- noun (Tyndale Bible, obsolete, also puristic) A priest.
- noun (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.”
- verb (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.”
- noun A small tree, Sambucus nigra, having white flowers in a cluster, and edible purple berries.
- noun Any of the other species of the genus Sambucus: small trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials with red, purple, or white and yellow berries (some of which are poisonous).
- noun A cow's udder, especially used as food.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
senior geriatric long in the tooth on in years eld antecessor mzee forerunner black elder elderberry bush older sr.
Antonyms
Etymology
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.
From Middle English eldre, eller, ellern, from Old English ellærn, from Proto-Germanic *elernaz, *eldernaz (compare Low German Elhorn, Elloorn).
Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *aliþro (“udder”), from *alaną (“to nourish”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch elder (“udder”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Older; more aged, or existing longer.
- adjective Born before another; prior in years; senior; earlier; older; as, his elder brother died in infancy; --opposed to Ant: younger, and now commonly applied to a son, daughter, child, brother, etc. The elder shall serve the younger. Gen. xxv. 23.
- noun One who is older; a superior in age; a senior. 1 Tim. v. 1.
- noun An aged person; one who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
Etymology [AS. yldra, compar. of eald old. See Old.]
Etymology [AS. ealdor an elder, prince, fr. eald old. See Old, and cf. Elder, a., Alderman.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “elder”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details