elder

• n. 老人；长辈；年长者；父辈
• adj. 年长的；年龄较大的；资格老的
• n. (Elder)人名；(英、德、法、土、葡)埃尔德

词态变化

中文词源

来自old的比照级。

英文词源

elder

elder: Elder ‘older’ [OE] is not, of course, the same word as elder the tree-name [OE]. The former began life in prehistoric Germanic as *althizon, the comparative form of *althaz ‘old’. Gradually, the vowel i had an effect on the preceding vowel a, and by Old English times the word had become eldra – hence modern English elder. The regularized form older appeared in the 16th century. The derivative elderly dates from the 17th century. The tree-name comes from Old English ellærn, a word whose origin is not known for certain (although it may perhaps be related to English alder). The intrusive d began to appear in the 14th century.
=> old

elder (adj.)

"more old," Old English (Mercian) eldra, comparative of eald, ald (see old); only English survival of umlaut in comparison. Superseded by older since 16c. Elder statesman (1921) originally was a translation of Japanese genro (plural).

elder (n.2)

type of berry tree, c. 1400, with excrescent -d- from earlier ellen, from Old English ellæn, ellærn "elderberry tree," origin unknown, perhaps related to alder, which at any rate might be the source of the -d-. Common Germanic, cognates: Old Saxon elora, Middle Low German elre, Old High German elira, German Eller, Erle. Related: Elderberry.

elder (n.1)

"elderly person, senior citizen," c. 1200, from Old English eldra "older person, parent; ancestor; chief, prince" (used in biblical translation for Greek presbyter); see elder (adj.). Compare German Eltern, Danish forældre, Swedish föräldrar "parents." The Old English for "grandfather" was ealdfæder.

双语例句

1. She made liberal use of her elder sister's make-up and clothes.

她随便把姐姐的化妆品和衣服拿来用。

来自柯林斯例句

2. He is now an elder of the village church.

他现在是乡村教会的长老。

来自柯林斯例句

3. She used to play games of make-believe with her elder sister.

她过去常跟姐姐玩扮家家的游戏。

来自柯林斯例句

4. the elder of their two sons

他们的两个儿子中年纪大的那个

来自《权威词典》

5. an elder statesman of golf

高尔夫球的元老

来自《权威词典》