English Explanatory Dictionary

eld

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One's age, age in years, period of life.
  2. Old age, senility; an old person.
  3. Time; an age, an indefinitely long period of time.
  4. Former ages, antiquity, olden times.
adj
  1. Old.
verb
  1. To age, become or grow old.
  2. To delay; linger.
  3. To make old, age.

Pronunciation

/ɛld/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-eld.wav

Word forms

eld elth eild eeld ild yeeld elder eldest elds elding elded

Etymology

From Middle English elde, from Old English ieldu, eldo, ieldo (“age, period of time; period; time of life, years; mature or old age, eld; an age of the world, era, epoch”), from Proto-West Germanic *aldī, from Proto-Germanic *alþį̄ (“eld, age”), from *aldaz (“grown up, mature, old”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“to raise, feed”). Cognate with Scots eild (“age”), North Frisian jelde (“age”), German Älte (“age”), Danish ælde (“eld, age”), Icelandic elli (“eld, age”). Related also to Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃 (alds, “generation, age”), Old English alan (“to grow up, nourish”). More at old.

Synonyms

elderliness age chair days codgerhood eld fogeydom geezerdom golden years old age oldhood senescence senectitude superannuation twilight years sunset years vetustity ager antique badge-cove cheeser coffin dodger crinkly elder elderly geriatric genarian geezer grayhead greyhead hoarhead mzee old no spring chicken old timer old-timer oldtimer older adult oldie oldster senior senior citizen silver top twirly weazen wrinkly aeon ages blue moon coon's age crow's age dog's age donkey's years eon eternity forever forever and a day interim interlude interval lifetime

Related words

eldfather eldmother eldren eldship world
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on E Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary