elder.
comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
Meaning & usage
comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
It's typical for elder married couples to live in retirement homes.
The elder of the two was also an elder statesman.
Closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.
Where this word comes from
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.
A leader or senior member of a tribe or community, often of considerable age, respected as an authority figure, especially in a counselling, consultative, or ceremonial role.
We were presented to the village elder.
At the friendship centre, you can arrange to meet with a social worker or an elder.
An old person.
One who is older than another.
Respect your elders.
One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
An officer of a church, sometimes having teaching responsibilities.
A clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments.
a travelling elder
A priest.
One ordained to the lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood.
After being a member of the Church for a while, Bill was ordained to the office of elder.
Jack had been an elder for only a few days when he received a new calling.
A male missionary.
The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.
Title for a male missionary; title for a general authority.
One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.
A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.
Where this word comes from
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.
To admonish or reprove for improper conduct by the elders of the meeting.
I was eldered for directly responding to someone else's message in meeting for worship.
Where this word comes from
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.
A small tree, Sambucus nigra, having white flowers in a cluster, and edible purple berries.
Any of the other species of the genus Sambucus: small trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials with red, purple, or white and yellow berries (some of which are poisonous).
Where this word comes from
] From Middle English eldre, eller, ellern, from Old English ellærn, from Proto-Germanic *elernaz, *eldernaz (compare Low German Elhorn, Elloorn).
A cow's udder, especially used as food.
Where this word comes from
Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *aliþro (“udder”), from *alaną (“to nourish”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch elder (“udder”).
Try it on your idea.
elder has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.