old

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See also: öld, ǫld, øld, 'old, and old-

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English old, ald, from Old English ald, eald (“old, aged, ancient, antique, primeval”), from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), originally a participle form, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grown, tall, big”). Cognate with Scots auld (“old”), North Frisian ool, ual, uul (“old”), Saterland Frisian oold (“old”), West Frisian âld (“old”), Dutch oud (“old”), Low German old (“old”), German alt (“old”), Swedish äldre (“older, elder”), Icelandic eldri (“older, elder”), Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”). Related to eld.

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈəʊld/, /ˈɔʊld/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
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  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊld

Adjective

old (comparative older or elder, superlative oldest or eldest)

an old building.
  1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
    an old abandoned building;  an old friend
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
      They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
    1. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
      a wrinkled old man
    2. Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.
      an old loaf of bread
  2. Of an item that has been used and so is not new (unused).
    I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with.
  3. Having existed or lived for the specified time.
    How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old child.
    My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old.
  4. (heading) Of an earlier time.
    1. Former, previous.
      My new car is not as good as my old one.  a school reunion for Old Etonians
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
        The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
      • 1994, Michael Grumley, Life Drawing
        But over my old life, a new life had formed.
    2. That is no longer in existence.
      The footpath follows the route of an old railway line.
    3. Obsolete; out-of-date.
      That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way.
    4. Familiar.
      When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho.
    5. (UK) Used to describe a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school.
  5. Tiresome.
    Your constant pestering is getting old.
  6. Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
  7. A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)
    We're having a good old time. My next car will be a big old SUV.  My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas.
  8. (obsolete) Excessive, abundant.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from old

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

Template:en-plural noun

  1. (with the) People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.
    A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.
  2. (in combination) One of a specified age.
    when he was an eight-year-old ; a 62-year-old should

Anagrams

German Low German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle Low German ôlt, from Old Saxon ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz. The A became an O through the effect of the velarised L in the same manner as in Dutch oud. Cognate with English old, Dutch oud, German alt, West Frisian âld. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grow, nourish”), from *h₂el- (“grow, nourish”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

old (comparative öller, superlative öllst)

  1. old

Declension

Positive forms of old
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is old se is old dat is old se sünd old
partitive een olls een olls wat olls allens oll
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative olle olle old olle
oblique ollen olle old olle
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de olle de olle dat olle de ollen
oblique den ollen de olle dat olle de ollen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en olle/ollen en olle en old/ollet (keen) ollen
oblique en ollen en olle en old/ollet (keen) ollen
Comparative forms of old
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is öller se is öller dat is öller se sünd öller
partitive een öllers een öllers wat öllers allens öller
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative öllere öllere öller öllere
oblique öllern öllere öller öllere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de öllere de öllere dat öllere de öllern
oblique den öllern de öllere dat öllere de öllern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en öllere/ölleren en öllere en öller (keen) öllern
oblique en öllern en öllere en öller (keen) öllern
Superlative forms of old
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is de Öllste se is de Öllste dat is dat Öllste se sünd de Öllsten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative öllste öllste öllst öllste
oblique öllsten öllste öllst öllste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de öllste de öllste dat öllste de öllsten
oblique den öllsten de öllste dat öllste de öllsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en öllste/öllsten en öllste en öllst (keen) öllsten
oblique en öllsten en öllste en öllst (keen) öllsten
Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Descendants

  • → German: oll

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *aŋa- (“to loosen, open (up), untie”) [1] + -d (frequentative suffix).[2]

Pronunciation

Verb

old

  1. (transitive) to solve
  2. (transitive) to untie

Conjugation

conjugation of old
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal 		3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal 		1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal 		3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal


Indica­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldok oldasz old oldunk oldotok oldanak
Def. oldom oldod oldja oldjuk oldjátok oldják
2nd-p. o. oldalak ―
Past Indef. oldottam oldottál oldott oldottunk oldottatok oldottak
Def. oldottam oldottad oldotta oldottuk oldottátok oldották
2nd-p. o. oldottalak ―
Future Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. oldani fog.
Archaic
Preterit 		Indef. oldék oldál olda oldánk oldátok oldának
Def. oldám oldád oldá oldánk oldátok oldák
2nd-p. o. oldálak ―
Archaic Past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. old vala, oldott vala/volt.
Archaic
Future 		Indef. oldandok oldandasz oldand oldandunk oldandotok oldandanak
Def. oldandom oldandod oldandja oldandjuk oldandjátok oldandják
2nd-p. o. oldandalak ―
Condi­tional
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldanék oldanál oldana oldanánk oldanátok oldanának
Def. oldanám oldanád oldaná oldanánk
(or oldanók) 		oldanátok oldanák
2nd-p. o. oldanálak ―
Past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. oldott volna
Sub­junc­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldjak oldj or
oldjál 		oldjon oldjunk oldjatok oldjanak
Def. oldjam oldd or
oldjad 		oldja oldjuk oldjátok oldják
2nd-p. o. oldjalak ―
(Archaic) Past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. oldott légyen
Infinitive oldani oldanom oldanod oldania oldanunk oldanotok oldaniuk
Other
forms 		Verbal noun Present part. Past part. Future part. Adverbial participle Causative
oldás oldó oldott oldandó oldva (oldván)
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular
(and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).
potential conjugation of old
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal 		3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal 		1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal 		3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldhatok oldhatsz oldhat oldhatunk oldhattok oldhatnak
Def. oldhatom oldhatod oldhatja oldhatjuk oldhatjátok oldhatják
2nd-p. o. oldhatlak ―
Past Indef. oldhattam oldhattál oldhatott oldhattunk oldhattatok oldhattak
Def. oldhattam oldhattad oldhatta oldhattuk oldhattátok oldhatták
2nd-p. o. oldhattalak ―
Archaic
Preterit 		Indef. oldhaték oldhatál oldhata oldhatánk oldhatátok oldhatának
Def. oldhatám oldhatád oldhatá oldhatánk oldhatátok oldhaták
2nd-p. o. oldhatálak ―
Archaic Past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala, e.g. oldhat vala, oldhatott vala/volt.
Archaic
Future 		Indef. oldhatandok
or oldandhatok 		oldhatandasz
or oldandhatsz 		oldhatand
or oldandhat 		oldhatandunk
or oldandhatunk 		oldhatandotok
or oldandhattok 		oldhatandanak
or oldandhatnak
Def. oldhatandom
or oldandhatom 		oldhatandod
or oldandhatod 		oldhatandja
or oldandhatja 		oldhatandjuk
or oldandhatjuk 		oldhatandjátok
or oldandhatjátok 		oldhatandják
or oldandhatják
2nd-p. o. oldhatandalak
or oldandhatlak 		―
Condi­tional
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldhatnék oldhatnál oldhatna oldhatnánk oldhatnátok oldhatnának
Def. oldhatnám oldhatnád oldhatná oldhatnánk
(or oldhatnók) 		oldhatnátok oldhatnák
2nd-p. o. oldhatnálak ―
Past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. oldhatott volna
Sub­junc­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. oldhassak oldhass or
oldhassál 		oldhasson oldhassunk oldhassatok oldhassanak
Def. oldhassam oldhasd or
oldhassad 		oldhassa oldhassuk oldhassátok oldhassák
2nd-p. o. oldhassalak ―
(Archaic) Past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. oldhatott légyen
Inf. (oldhatni) (oldhatnom) (oldhatnod) (oldhatnia) (oldhatnunk) (oldhatnotok) (oldhatniuk)
Positive adjective oldható Neg. adj. oldhatatlan Adv. part. (oldhatva / oldhatván)

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

References

  1. ^ Entry #16 in Uralonet, online Uralic etymological database of the Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics.
  2. ^ old in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Middle Low German

Adjective

old

  1. Alternative spelling of ôlt.
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