What does elder mean?
Definitions for elder
ˈɛl dərel·der
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word elder.
Princeton's WordNet
elder, seniornoun
a person who is older than you are
elder, elderberry bushnoun
any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit
elderadjective
any of various church officers
elder, older, sr.adjective
used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son
"Bill Adams, Sr."
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Elderadjective
The comparative of eld, Surpassing another in years; survivor; having the privileges of primogeniture.
Etymology: eald, ealdor, Saxon.
They bring the comparison of younger daughters conforming themselves in attire to the example of their elder sisters. Richard Hooker, b. iv. s. 13.
Let still the woman take
An elder than herself; so wears she to him,
So sways she level in her husband’s heart. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.How I firmly am resolv’d, you know;
That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter,
Before I have a husband for the elder. William Shakespeare, Tam. of the Shrew.The elder of his children comes to acquire a degree of authority among the younger, by the same means the father did among them. William Temple.
Fame’s high temple stands;
Stupendous pile! not rear’d by mortal hands!
Whate’er proud Rome, or artful Greece beheld,
Or elder Babylon, its frame excell’d. Alexander Pope, Temp. of Fame.Eldernoun
The name of a tree.
Etymology: ellasa, Saxon.
The branches are full of pith, having but little wood: the flowers are monopetalous, divided into several segments, and expand in form of a rose: these are, for the most part, collected into an umbel, and are succeeded by soft succulent berries, having three seeds in each. It may be easily propagated from cuttings or seeds; but the former, being the most expeditious method, is generally practised. The season for planting their cuttings is any time from September to March, thrusting them six or eight inches into the ground. Dwarf elder is near London propagated for medicinal use. Philip Miller.
Look for thy reward
Amongst the nettles at the elder tree,
Which overshades the mouth of that same pit. William Shakespeare, Tit. And.Then seek the bank where flowering elders crowd. James Thomson.
ChatGPT
elder
An elder is a person of greater age or seniority, often used to signify respect towards them due to their life experience or wisdom. It can also refer to a position of authority or leadership, particularly in religious or community contexts.
Webster Dictionary
Elderadjective
older; more aged, or existing longer
Elderadjective
born before another; prior in years; senior; earlier; older; as, his elder brother died in infancy; -- opposed to younger, and now commonly applied to a son, daughter, child, brother, etc
Elderadjective
one who is older; a superior in age; a senior
Elderadjective
an aged person; one who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor
Elderadjective
a person who, on account of his age, occupies the office of ruler or judge; hence, a person occupying any office appropriate to such as have the experience and dignity which age confers; as, the elders of Israel; the elders of the synagogue; the elders in the apostolic church
Elderadjective
a clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments; as, a traveling elder
Eldernoun
a genus of shrubs (Sambucus) having broad umbels of white flowers, and small black or red berries
Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]
Wikidata
Elder
An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word, Sacrament and Order, filling the preaching and pastoral offices. In other Christian traditions, an elder may be a lay person charged with serving as an administrator in a local church, or be ordained to such an office. Particularly in reference to age and experience, elders exist throughout world cultures, and the Christian sense of elder is partially related to this.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Elder
eld′ėr, n. a genus of plants consisting chiefly of shrubs and trees, with pinnate leaves, small flowers (of which the corolla is wheel-shaped and five-cleft), and three-seeded berries—the Common Elder is the Scotch Bourtree.—ns. Eld′er-berr′y, the acidulous purple-black drupaceous fruit of the elder; Eld′er-gun, a popgun made of elder-wood by extracting the pith; Eld′er-wine, a pleasant wine made from elder-berries.—Elder-flower water, distilled water, with an agreeable odour, made from the flowers. [A.S. ellærn, ellen.]
Elder
eld′ėr, adj. older: having lived a longer time: prior in origin.—n. one who is older: an ancestor: one advanced to office on account of age: one of a class of office-bearers in the Presbyterian Church—equivalent to the presbyters of the New Testament.—n. Eld′erliness.—adj. Eld′erly, somewhat old: bordering on old age.—n. Eld′ership, state of being older: the office of an elder.—adj. Eld′est, oldest. [A.S. eldra, yldra, comp. of eald, old.]
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Elder
a name given to certain office-bearers in the Presbyterian Church, associated with the minister in certain spiritual functions short of teaching and administering sacraments; their duties embrace the general oversight of the congregation, and are of a wider nature than those of the deacons, whose functions are confined strictly to the secular interests of the church; they are generally elected by the church members, and ordained in the presence of the congregation; their term of office is in some cases for a stated number of years, but more generally for life.
Suggested Resources
Elder
Elder vs. Elderly -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Elder and Elderly.
Elder
Older vs. Elder -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Older and Elder.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
ELDER
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Elder is ranked #1186 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Elder surname appeared 29,796 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 would have the surname Elder.
79.1% or 23,584 total occurrences were White.
15.7% or 4,684 total occurrences were Black.
2.3% or 709 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.8% or 545 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.5% or 155 total occurrences were Asian.
0.4% or 119 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'elder' in Nouns Frequency: #3014
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of elder in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of elder in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of elder in a Sentence
most delightful time in the most beautiful country in the company of Tonantius Ferreolus (the elder) and Apollinaris, the most charming hosts in the world
Elder's backwards positions harm women's rights and the livelihoods of California families, elder's lack of judgment and character flaws threaten the success and credibility of this historic recall movement -- Californians will not vote to recall one dysfunctional Governor if it means replacing him with another.
My dad, my mum, my brothers, my elder sister and her children, my cousin and his son, a whole family of 12 people that left Izmir on a boat to Greece and then we learned the news yesterday.
My book about Stephen Miller was independently fact-checked and my reporting speaks for itself, mr. Elder had the opportunity to speak to me for my column but his press secretary canceled on the morning of our appointment.I believe my column paints a nuanced and fair portrait of Mr. Elder, including a look at his moving relationship with his father.
My sincere and heartfelt thanks to my respected elder brother, Mukesh, and Nita, for standing by me during these trying times, and demonstrating the importance of staying true to our strong family values by extending this timely support.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for elder
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- бузіна́, старшыBelarusian
- по-възрастен, бъзBulgarian
- saücCatalan, Valencian
- starší, stařešina, bezinkaCzech
- hynafgwr, ysgawen, hŷn, henuriad, blaenor, henachWelsh
- hyld, hyldetræDanish
- Holunder, älter, Schwarzer Holunder, Holder, Holler, ältereGerman
- saúco, ancianoSpanish
- مهتر, بزرگترPersian
- vanhin, mustaselja, saksanheisi, mustaheisi, seljatFinnish
- ylliniviðurFaroese
- ancien, sureau, aînéFrench
- trom, foirfeach, sinsearIrish
- èildear, droman, foirfeach, dromanachScottish Gaelic
- trammanManx
- idősebbHungarian
- մեծ, սեւ կտտկենի, թանթրվենի, փորքիչ, շամբուկ, քալանթաշի ծառ, արջի խնդեղնի, կտտկենիArmenian
- yllir, öldungur, svartyllirIcelandic
- sambucoItalian
- 年長, 年上, としより, ニワトコ, 長老Japanese
- 어른, 장로Korean
- henavoges, kottha, henavek, skawenCornish
- kaumātua, pēperekōu, tūnohunohuMāori
- svarthyll, hyllNorwegian
- ouderling, vlier, ouderDutch
- svarthyll, hyllNorwegian Nynorsk
- starszy, bezPolish
- sabugueiro, [[mais]] [[velho]]/[[idoso]]/[[antigo]], ancião, anciã, sabugo, mais velhoPortuguese
- socRomanian
- старейшина, бузина́, старший, староста, чёрная бузина́Russian
- sabucu, sambucu, savucu, saucuSardinian
- bàzga, zóva, starješina, ба̀зга, зо́ваSerbo-Croatian
- staršíSlovak
- starejši, starešina, črni bezeg, starosta, bezegSlovene
- fläderSwedish
- mzeeSwahili
- ผู้สูงอายุ, ผู้อาวุโสThai
- ihtiyar, yaşlıTurkish
- старший, бузина́Ukrainian
- cảVietnamese
- sawou, sawri, seucea, suzonWalloon
- עלטערYiddish
- 长老Chinese
Get even more translations for elder »
Translation
Find a translation for the elder definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"elder." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/elder>.
Discuss these elder definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In