oldness

Variant of old

old definition

old (ōld)

adjective older old′er or elder eld′er, oldest old′·est or eldest eld′·est

  1. having lived or been in existence for a long time; aged
  2. of, like, or characteristic of aged people; specif., mature in judgment, wise, etc.
  3. of a certain or specified age or duration a child ten years old
  4. made or produced some time ago; not new
  5. familiar or known from the past; accustomed up to his old tricks
  6. designating the form of a language in its earliest attested stage Old English
  7. having been in use for a long time; worn out by age or use; shabby
  8. that was at one time; former my old teacher
  9. having had long experience or practice an old hand at this work
  10. belonging to the remote past; having existed long ago; ancient an old civilization
  11. dating or continuing from some period long before the present; of long standing an old tradition
  12. designating the earlier or earliest of two or more the Old World
  13. Informal dear: a term of affection or cordiality old boy
  14. Informal tiresome, annoying, etc., esp. as a result of repetition or monotony their incessant chatter has gotten old
  15. Geol. having reached the stage of greatly decreased activity or showing extensive reduction of topographical form: said of streams, mountain ranges, etc.

Etymology: ME < OE (Anglian) ald, WS eald, akin to Ger alt < IE base *al-, to grow > L altus, old, alere, to nourish: basic sense “grown”

noun

  1. time long past; yore days of old
  2. a person of a specified age: used in hyphenated compounds a six-year-old
  3. something old: with the
  4. old people: often with the

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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