elder
elder (el′dər)
adjective
- born or brought forth earlier than another or others; exceeding another in age; senior; older
- Obsolete of longer standing or superior rank, position, validity, etc.
- Now Rare earlier; former; ancient
Etymology: ME < OE (Mercian) eldra, ældra, compar. < base of ald, eald, old
noun
- an older person
- an aged person
- a forefather; ancestor; predecessor
- an older person with some authority or dignity in a tribe or community
- an officer in an early Christian church
- in some Protestant churches, a minister; also, a member appointed to the ruling body who may also assist at Communion
- ☆ Mormon Ch. a member of the Melchizedek priesthood
el·der (el′dər)
noun
- any of a genus (Sambucus) of shrubs and small trees of the honeysuckle family, with compound leaves and flat-topped clusters of small white flowers followed by red or purple berries
- any of various unrelated plants, as the box elder or the marsh elder
Etymology: ME ellerne & (with intrusive -d- as in alder) eldore < OE ellern, ellen, akin to MLowG ellern, eldern < IE base *el- > elm, alder, L alnus, elder
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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