# elder

Pronunciation: US say "EL-dur" /ˈɛldɚ/; UK say "EL-duh" /ˈɛldə/

## Noun

1. A senior, respected member of a tribe or community, valued as an authority in counseling, consultation, or ceremony.
   - Simple: An older, respected member of a group who others go to for advice.
   - _The council of elders met to decide how to share the harvest._
   - _As an elder, she was asked to bless the new gathering hall._
3. A person who has reached old age. *(US)*
   - Simple: Someone who has reached old age.
   - _Many elders in the community rely on volunteers for rides to appointments._
   - _The program pairs a young volunteer with an elder who lives alone._
4. A person who is older in age than another.
   - Simple: A person who is older than someone else.
   - _As the elder, she felt responsible for guiding her younger siblings._
   - _He deferred to his elders in all matters of family business._
5. In some Christian churches, an officer who helps lead the congregation, sometimes with teaching duties; in some churches, an ordained minister who can administer the sacraments.
   - Simple: A leader in some Christian churches who helps run the church or leads services.
   - _The board of elders oversees both worship and the teaching of new members._
   - _She was ordained as an elder after years of service to the congregation._
6. A small tree or shrub of the genus Sambucus, especially the common elder (Sambucus nigra), with flat clusters of white flowers and small dark berries.
   - Simple: A small tree or bush with flat groups of white flowers and small dark berries called elderberries.
   - _The elder by the gate was heavy with white blossom in early summer._
   - _She made syrup from the ripe berries of the elder behind the cottage._
7. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a man holding the Melchizedek priesthood office of elder; also a title before the names of male missionaries and general leaders.
   - Simple: A man with a certain rank in the Mormon church's higher priesthood, also a title for young male missionaries and top leaders.
   - _Elder Thompson and his companion served in the same city for a year._
   - _At the conference, Elder Ramirez addressed thousands of members._
8. A person who lived in an earlier time; a predecessor.
   - Simple: A person who lived long ago, before the people of today.
   - _The poets of our age owe much to their elders of the previous century._
   - _She treated Homer as an elder whose voice still shaped her own verse._
9. A priest or priestess of a pagan or Heathen faith.
   - Simple: A priest or priestess in a pagan or heathen religion.
   - _An elder of the grove blessed the gathering at the solstice._
   - _The community's elders presided over rites honoring the old gods._

## Adjective

2. Comparative of old. — comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
   - Simple: Comparative of old. Use it mainly for older family members (my elder sister), never with than.
   - _The elder of the two daughters inherited the family farm._
   - _His elder cousin always settled the arguments between them._

## Verb

10. To formally admonish or reprove someone for improper conduct, as done by the elders of a meeting.
   - Simple: To correct or scold someone for bad behavior, done by a group's leaders.
   - _The community decided to elder the young man for his disruptive behavior._
   - _He was quietly eldered for speaking out of turn during worship._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A cow's udder, especially as prepared and eaten as food.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 7–10** — Proto-Germanic *alþizô became Old English eldra (also yldra, ieldra) and then Middle English eldre. The change of a to e came about because of the i that followed, a process known as umlaut or i-mutation.
**Meaning 6** — Proto-Germanic *elernaz or *eldernaz (compare Low German Elhorn, Elloorn) gave Old English ellærn, which became Middle English eldre (also eller, ellern).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/elder (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).