Definitions for elder
ˈɛl dərel·der

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. elder, seniornoun

   a person who is older than you are

2. elder, elderberry bushnoun

   any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit

3. elderadjective

   any of various church officers

4. 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."

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Elderadjective

   older; more aged, or existing longer

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

2. 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

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

3. Elderadjective

   one who is older; a superior in age; a senior

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

4. Elderadjective

   an aged person; one who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

5. 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

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

6. Elderadjective

   a clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments; as, a traveling elder

   Etymology: [OE. ellern, eller, AS. ellen, cf. LG. elloorn; perh. akin to OHG. holantar, holuntar, G. holunder; or perh. to E. alder, n.]

7. 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.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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.]

2. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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.

Matched Categories

1. • Shrub

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'elder' in Nouns Frequency: #3014

How to pronounce elder?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say elder in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of elder in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of elder in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of elder in a Sentence

1. Elmirza Khozhugov:

   Tamerlan loved his younger brother, absolutely adored him, always put himself as the defender of Jahar. Tamerlan was very charismatic and he was a leader within himself. It was a very easy thing for him to do, being the elder brother.

2. Larry Elder:

   God forbid Gov. Elder should replace Dianne Feinstein, they are afraid I am going to replace Dianne Feinstein with a Republican, which I most certainly would do. And Mark Levin radio show would be an earthquake in Washington, D.C.

3. Ehsan Sehgal:

   Before you become elderly; learn how to care, respect, and love elder-ones since you will be that one thereupon and ultimately.

4. Dan Schnur:

   Despite the fact that Larry Elder is to the right of most Californians on many issues, it's Larry Elder approach to the pandemic that has helped Gavin Newsom more than anything, gavin Newsom isn't just running against Larry Elder and Donald Trump ; Gavin Newsom's running against Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis. Gavin Newsom's framed this as a choice not just between two candidates but between two very different approaches the states have taken in response to the pandemic.

5. Shuabu Lawal:

   A boy ran into my shop and said his father and elder brother had been shot. He was only wearing shorts, no top and sweating despite the wintry weather. I shut down my shop immediately, leaving some items outside.

Images & Illustrations of elder

Popularity rank by frequency of use