oldest; esp., firstborn or oldest surviving
Origin of eldest
Middle English from Old English eldest(a), ieldest(a), superlative of ald, eald: see oldeldest
eld·estWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"eldest." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest>.
APA Style
eldest. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest
eldest
adjective
Greatest in age or seniority. See Usage Note at elder1.
Origin of eldest
Middle English from Old English eldesta ; see al-2 in Indo-European roots.THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"eldest." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest>.
APA Style
eldest. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest
Adjective
Usage notes
The normal superlative of old is oldest. The irregular form eldest is sometimes used with family members, but it is otherwise rare.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"eldest." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest>.
APA Style
eldest. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/eldest
