Word.ws English Dictionary

elder

Syllables: el·der/ˈɛldə/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈeldə/

elder adjective: closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others. Also the comparative degree of old.

elder: closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others
Image: Willow, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

elder

  1. Closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.
    • The deal fell to Copling and the automaton therefore had the first "elder hand," with the advantage of a discard of five cards against its opponent's three.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    senior
    Antonyms:
    junior, younger

Noun (1)

elder (plural elders)

  1. 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.
  2. (US) An old person.
    • Treating illness among society’s elders is challenging since board-certified geriatricians (physicians trained, knowledgeable and certified in treating older patients) are in short supply, here in El Paso and throughout the country.2022, Ruth Taber, “Opinion: We’ll be healthier and happier if we adjust our thinking about aging”, in El Paso Matters
    Synonyms:
    eld
  3. (in plural, relational) One who is older than another.
    • Respect your elders.
  4. One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
    • Carry your Head[…] as your Elders have done.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    antecessor
  5. An officer of a church, sometimes having teaching responsibilities.
  6. A clergyman authorized to administer all the sacraments.
    • a travelling elder
  7. (obsolete, Tyndale Bible, also puristic) A priest.
  8. (Mormonism, US) 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.
  9. (Mormonism, US) A male missionary.
    • The elders are coming over for dinner tonight.
  10. (Mormonism, capitalized, often) Title for a male missionary; title for a general authority.
    • One of the long-time leaders in the Church is Elder Packer.
  11. (Germanic) A pagan or Heathen priest or priestess.

Verb

elder (third-person singular simple present elders, present participle eldering, simple past and past participle eldered)

  1. (Quakerism) 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.

Noun (2)

elder (plural elders)

  1. A small tree, Sambucus nigra, having white flowers in a cluster, and edible purple berries.
    • Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273
    Synonyms:
    black elder
  2. 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).

Noun (3)

elder

  1. A cow's udder, especially used as food.

Proper noun capitalized: Elder

Elder

  1. A surname.
    • Ruth Elder was known for her beauty and acting, but her real dream was to become the female version of transatlantic aviator Charles Lindbergh.2016 November 15, Karla Pequenino, “The women pilots that history forgot”, in CNN

Also used as

elder is also the comparative degree of old.

elder meaning in Bengali, Malayalam, Arabic and Indonesian

elder in Bengali

one who lived at an earlier period — see also predecessor
পূর্বপুরুষ purbopuruś

elder in Malayalam

greater than another in age or seniority
മൂത്ത mūtta, മുതിർന്ന mutiṟnna

elder in Arabic

greater than another in age or seniority
كَابِر kābir
Sambucus nigra
بَيْلَسَان baylasān
Sambucus
خَمَان ḵamān

elder in Indonesian

greater than another in age or seniority
lebih tua
older member, leader of a community
tetua
old person
orang tua, lanjut usia
More languagesFewer languages
elder in Persian
بزرگتر bozorgtar, مهتر mehtar, آقطی âqti, پلم palem
elder in Thai
ผู้อาวุโส pûu-aa-wú-sǒo, ผู้สูงอายุ pûu-sǔung-aa-yú
elder in Vietnamese
cả

Examples of elder in a sentence

  • People saw in the elders, who were closer to death, the manifestation of the divine force that was thought to achieve its full liberation at death.1995, Julius Evola, “The Two Paths in the Afterlife”, in Guido Stucco, transl., Revolt against the Modern World, Rochester, Vermont: Inner...
  • I probably wouldn't be here talking about this very topic if it weren't for the few but mighty elders in the tech and gender rights spaces.2022 August 25, Seyi Akiwowo, How to Stay Safe Online: A digital self-care toolkit for developing resilience and allyship, Penguin UK...
  • Fashion elder compères his own celebration of designs revived from his archive by design director Sam Cotton[.]2026 January 17, Lauren Cochrane, “Paul Smith reworks his past at Milan menswear salon show”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

All 40 example sentences with elder

Synonyms of elder

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of elder

Forms of elder

Noun
pluralelders
Verb
third-person singular presentelders
present participleeldering
past participleeldered
pasteldered
Proper noun
alternative formYelder

Plural of elder: elders

Origin of elder

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.

] From Middle English eldre, eller, ellern, from Old English ellærn, from Proto-Germanic *elernaz, *eldernaz (compare Low German Elhorn, Elloorn).

Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *aliþro (“udder”), from *alaną (“to nourish”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch elder (“udder”).

Words formed from elder

Phrases with elder

Words that rhyme with elder

Questions about elder

What does elder mean?
Elder means closer to the dealer, i.e. receiving cards earlier than others.
What is elder in Bengali?
Elder in Bengali is পূর্বপুরুষ (purbopuruś). See Elder meaning in Bengali.
How do you use elder in a sentence?
People saw in the elders, who were closer to death, the manifestation of the divine force that was thought to achieve its full liberation at death.
What part of speech is elder?
Elder can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce elder?
Elder is pronounced /ˈeldə/ (Australia).

Words near elder in the dictionary

  1. elded
  2. elden
  3. eldened
  4. eldening
  5. eldens
  6. elder
  7. elder abuse
  8. elder brothers
  9. Elder Futhark
  10. elder orphan
  11. elder orphans

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: elder (page history and authors); Elder (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-elder.wav.

Cite this entry: “elder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.