elder

See also: Elder

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈeldə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛldə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛldɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɛldə(r)

Etymology 1

From Old English eldra, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. The vowel change from a to e triggered by the following i is called umlaut.

Adjective

elder

1. Comparative of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
   • The elder of the two was also an elder statesman
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad^[1]:

     She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.

Usage notes

The normal comparative of old is older. The irregular form elder is sometimes used with family members, but otherwise rare (except in fixed expressions such as elder statesman). Elder is generally limited to attributive position (my elder brother) and does not occur in predicative position (*my brother is elder).

Translations

greater than another in age or seniority

• Armenian: մեծ (hy) ‎(mec)
• Belarusian: старшы ‎(stáršy)
• Bulgarian: по-възрастен ‎(po-vǎzrasten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 年長的 (zh), 年长的 (zh) ‎(niánzhǎng-de)

• Cornish: kottha
• Czech: starší (cs)
• Dutch: ouder (nl)
• Esperanto: pli maljuna
• Finnish: vanhempi (fi)
• French: aîné (fr)
• Georgian: უფროსი ‎(uprosi)
• German: älter (de)
• Hungarian: idősebb (hu)
• Japanese: 年上の ‎(としうえの, toshiue-no), 年長の ‎(ねんちょうの, nenchō-no)

• Old English: ealdor
• Old Saxon: aldāri
• Persian: بزرگتر (fa) ‎(bozorgtar), مهتر (fa) ‎(mehtar)
• Polish: starszy (pl)
• Portuguese: mais velho/idoso/antigo
• Quechua: kuraq
• Russian: ста́рший (ru) ‎(stáršij)
• Slovak: starší
• Slovene: starejši (sl)
• Spanish: anciano (es), adulto mayor
• Turkish: daha yaşlı (tr), daha ihtiyar (tr)
• Ukrainian: старший ‎(stáršyj)
• Vietnamese: cả (vi)
• Welsh: hŷn (cy), henach

Noun

elder ‎(plural elders)

1. An older person or an older member, usually a leader, of some community.

   We were presented to the village elder.

2. One who is older than another.

   Respect your elders.

3. One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
   • L'Estrange

     Carry your head as your elders have done.

4. An officer of a church, sometimes having teaching responsibilities.
5. A clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments.

   a travelling elder

6. (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.

   Jack had been an elder for only a few days when he received a new calling.

7. (US, Mormonism) Male missionary.

   The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.

8. (Mormonism, often capitalized) Title for a male missionary; title for a general authority.

   One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.

9. (paganism and Heathenry) A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.

Translations

elderly person

• Afrikaans: oudstes (plural)
• Albanian: plak (sq)

• Catalan: grans (ca) m (plural)
• French: grans (fr) m (plural)

one who is older than another

• Finnish: vanhempi (fi)

• Spanish: mayor (es)

leader of a community

• Chinese:

  Dungan: лохан m ‎(lohan)

  Mandarin: 老漢 (zh), 老汉 (zh) ‎(lǎohàn), 耆英 ‎(qíyīng)

• Catalan: ancian m
• Cornish: henavek m, henavoges f
• Czech: stařešina (cs)
• Finnish: vanhus (fi) (older person); vanhin (fi) (community leader)
• French: ancien (fr) m
• Georgian: ხევისბერი ‎(xevisberi), ერისთავი ‎(eristavi), წინამძღოლი ‎(c̣inamʒɣoli)
• Icelandic: öldungur m
• Irish: sinsear m, foirfeach m
• Japanese: 年寄り ‎(としより, toshiyori), 長老 ‎(ちょうろう, chōrō)
• Korean: 어른 (ko) ‎(eoreun)
• Luhya: omulosi

• Maori: pēperekōu, tūnohunohu, kaumātua
• Meru: mukoru
• Persian: دادمه ‎(dâdmeh)
• Portuguese: ancião (pt) m, anciã (pt) f
• Russian: старе́йшина (ru) m ‎(staréjšina), ста́роста (ru) m ‎(stárosta)
• Scottish Gaelic: èildear m, foirfeach m
• Serbo-Croatian: starješina (sh) m
• Slovene: starešina m, starosta m
• Spanish: anciano (es)
• Swahili: mzee (sw) class 1/2
• Tajik: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: ผู้อาวุโส ‎(phoo-a-wu-so), ผู้สูงอายุ ‎(phoo-soong-a-yoo)
• Welsh: hynafgwr m, henuriad m

officer of the church

• Dutch: ouderling m
• Finnish: vanhin (fi)
• Japanese: 長老 ‎(ちょうろう, chōrō)
• Russian: старе́йшина (ru) m ‎(staréjšina)

• Scottish Gaelic: èildear m
• Swahili: mzee (sw) class 1/2
• Welsh: blaenor m

one who lived at an earlier period

• Afrikaans: voorouer
• Albanian: stërgjysh (sq)
• Belarusian: продак ‎(prodak)
• Bengali: পূর্বপুরুষ ‎(purbpuruṣ)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 長老 (zh), 长老 (zh) ‎(zhǎnglǎo)

• Finnish: esi-isä (fi)
• Spanish: antepasado (es)

title in Mormonism

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 長老 (zh), 长老 (zh) ‎(zhǎnglǎo)

• Finnish: vanhin (fi)

• Japanese: 長老 ‎(ちょうろう, chōrō)
• Russian: старе́йшина (ru) m ‎(staréjšina)
• Swahili: mzee (sw) class 1/2

Verb

elder ‎(third-person singular simple present elders, present participle eldering, simple past and past participle eldered)

1. (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.

Derived terms

Derived terms

elderdom elderhood elderly

eldership elder statesman elder stateswoman

Etymology 2

Wikipedia

Wikispecies

Sambucus nigra

From Middle English eldre, eller, from Old English ellærn, from Proto-Germanic *el(d)ernaz (confer Low German Elhorn, Elloorn), adjectival from Proto-Indo-European *h₁edʰ-l-i 'spruce, fir' (compare Middle Irish aidlen 'silver fir', Latin ebulum ‎(“dwarf elder”), Old Prussian addle 'fir', Czech jedle 'silver fir', Ancient Greek ἐλάτη ‎(elátē, “silver fir”)

Noun

elder ‎(plural elders)

1. A small tree, Sambucus nigra, having white flowers in a cluster, and edible purple berries
2. Any of the other species of the genus Sambucus: small trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials with red, purple, or white/yellow berries (some of which are poisonous).

Synonyms

• (Sambucus nigra): black elder

Derived terms

Derived terms

black elder box elder Chinese elder dwarf elder

elderberry eldern marsh elder

Translations

Sambucus nigra

• Armenian: սեւ կտտկենի ‎(sew kttkeni), թանթրվենի (hy) ‎(tʿantʿrveni), քալանթաշի ծառ ‎(kʿalantʿaši caṙ), արջի խնդեղնի ‎(arǰi xndełni), փորքիչ ‎(pʿorkʿičʿ)
• Aromanian: sug m
• Catalan: saüc m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 西洋接骨木 ‎(xīyángjiēgǔmù)

• Cornish: skawen f
• Danish: hyld c, hyldetræ n
• Erzya: сазаргуло ‎(sazargulo)
• Faroese: ylliniviður m
• Finnish: mustaselja, mustaheisi
• Franco-Provençal: savuc m
• French: sureau (fr) m
• Friulian: saût m, savût
• German: Holunder (de) m, Schwarzer Holunder, Holler m, Holder (de) m
• Icelandic: svartyllir m
• Irish: trom m
• Italian: sambuco (it) m
• Japanese: 西洋接骨木 ‎(せいようにわとこ, seiyōniwatoko)
• Manx: tramman m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: svarthyll m

  Nynorsk: svarthyll m

• Persian: پلم (fa) ‎(palem)
• Portuguese: sabugueiro (pt) m, sabugo (pt) m
• Romanian: soc (ro) m
• Russian: бузина́ (ru) f ‎(buziná), чёрная бузина́ f ‎(čórnaja buziná)
• Sardinian: sabucu m, sambucu, saucu, savucu
• Scottish Gaelic: droman m, dromanach m
• Sicilian: savucu m
• Slovene: črni bezeg m, bezeg (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: baz m

• Spanish: saúco (es) m
• Swedish: fläder (sv) c
• Ukrainian: бузина (uk) f ‎(buzyna)
• Venetian: saugo m, sanbugo, sambuc, saugaro m, saugar
• Walloon: sawou (wa) m, sawri (wa), suzon (wa), seucea (wa)
• Welsh: ysgawen f

Sambucus

• Armenian: կտտկենի ‎(kttkeni), թանթրվենի (hy) ‎(tʿantʿrveni), շամբուկ (hy) ‎(šambuk)
• Belarusian: бузіна́ f ‎(buziná)
• Bulgarian: бъз m ‎(bǎz)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 接骨木 ‎(zip³ gwat¹ muk⁶)

  Mandarin: 接骨木 (zh) ‎(jiēgǔmù)

• Czech: bezinka (cs) f
• Danish: hyld c
• Dutch: vlier (nl)
• Faroese: ylliniviður m
• Finnish: seljat, saksanheisi
• French: sureau (fr) m
• German: Holunder (de) m, Holder (de) m, Holler m
• Icelandic: yllir m
• Japanese: 接骨木 ‎(にわとこ, niwatoko, せっこつぼく, sekkotsuboku)

• Low German:

  German Low German: ellhoorn, goosfleder

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hyll m

  Nynorsk: hyll m

• Polish: bez (pl) m
• Portuguese: sabugueiro (pt) m
• Romanian: soc (ro) m
• Russian: бузина́ (ru) f ‎(buziná)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ба̀зга f, зо́ва f

  Roman: bàzga (sh) f, zóva (sh) f

• Slovene: bezeg (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: baz m

• Spanish: saúco (es) m
• Ukrainian: бузина́ (uk) f ‎(buzyná)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "small tree"

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} shtog m
• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} اَلْخَمَان ‎(al-ḵamān)
• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} бъз ‎(bǎz)
• Catalan: ^{(please verify)} saüc m
• Czech: ^{(please verify)} bez (cs) m
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} hyld c
• French: ^{(please verify)} sureau (fr) m
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} bodza (hu)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} yllir m
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} sambuko (io)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sambuco (it) m

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} sambūcus m
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} hyll m
• Polish: ^{(please verify)} bez (pl) m
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} soc (ro) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} ба̀зга f, ^{(please verify)} зова f

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} bàzga f, ^{(please verify)} zova f

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} saúco (es) m
• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} wazee (sw)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} mürver (tr)

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Basque

Noun

elder

1. slime

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

elder

1. present tense of elde

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Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse eldr, from Proto-Germanic *ailidaz.

Noun

elder m

1. fire
2. a skin disease - possibly erysipelas

Declension

Declension of elder (a-stem)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	elder	eldrin	elda(r)	eldani(r), -ane(r)
accusative	eld	eldin	elda	eldana
dative	eldi, -e	eldinum, -enom	eldum, -om	eldumin, -omen
genitive	elds	eldsins	elda	eldanna

Descendants

• Swedish: eld