elder

Forms

1.comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.
- The elder of the two was also an elder statesman.
- It's typical for elder married couples to live in retirement homes.
- She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination. The elder woman returned with dressings and a sponge, which she placed on a chair.
2.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.

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.
- 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.
2.An old person.
3.One who is older than another.
4.One who lived at an earlier period; a predecessor.
- Carry your Head[…] as your Elders have done.

1.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.

Rare· #4681

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.