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elder
Did you mean: elder (religious), Larry Elder (Columnist), Elder, Brad (golfer), Dave Elder (Atlanta Braves), Elder (administrative title), Lonne Elder (author)
Dictionary
eld·er1 (ĕel'də?r)
adj.
- Greater than another in age or seniority.
- Superior to another or others, as in rank.
n.
- An older person.
- An older, influential member of a family, tribe, or community.
- One of the governing officers of a church, often having pastoral or teaching functions.
- Mormon Church. A member of the higher order of priesthood.
[Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra.]
el'der·ship' n.
USAGE NOTE The adjective elder is not a synonym for elderly. In comparisons between two persons, elder means “older” but not necessarily “old”: My elder sister is sixteen; my younger, twelve. (Eldest is used when three or more persons are compared: He is the eldest of four brothers.) In other contexts elder does denote relatively advanced age but with the added component of respect for a person's achievement, as in an elder statesman. If age alone is to be expressed, one should use older or elderly rather than elder: A survey of older Americans; an elderly waiter.•Unlike elder and its related forms, the adjectives old, older, and oldest are applied to things as well as to persons.
el·der2 (ĕel'də?r)
n.
Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Sambucus, having clusters of small white flowers and red or purplish-black berrylike fruit.
[Middle English eldre, from Old English ellærn.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Directory > General Reference > Dictionary > elder
Thesaurus
elder
adjective
noun
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Directory > General Reference > Thesaurus > elder
WordNet
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun elder has 3 meanings:
Meaning #1: a person who is older than you are
Synonym: senior
Meaning #2: any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit
Synonym: elderberry bush
Meaning #3: any of various church officers
The adjective elder has 2 meanings:
Meaning #1: used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son
Synonyms: older, sr.
Meaning #2: older brother or sister
Synonyms: big, older
Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Sambucus, having clusters of small white flowers and red or purplish-black berrylike fruit.
[Middle English eldre, from Old English ellærn.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
|
Directory > General Reference > Dictionary > elder
Thesaurus
elder
adjective
noun
|
|
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
|
Directory > General Reference > Thesaurus > elder
WordNet
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun elder has 3 meanings:
Meaning #1: a person who is older than you are
Synonym: senior
Meaning #2: any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit
Synonym: elderberry bush
Meaning #3: any of various church officers
The adjective elder has 2 meanings:
Meaning #1: used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son
Synonyms: older, sr.
Meaning #2: older brother or sister
Synonyms: big, older
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