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Added 9 October 2026

elder

/ˈeldə/ noun

In Latin: senior Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about elder at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A person who is older than you are.
Any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit.
Any of various church officers.

adjective

Used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son.
Bill Adams, Sr.

Origin

From Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra, yldra, ieldra, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. The vowel change from a to e triggered by the following i is called umlaut or I-mutation.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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