
[Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra.]
eldership el'der·ship' n.USAGE NOTE The adjective elder is not a synonym for elderly. In comparisons between two persons, elder means "older" but not necessarily "old": My elder sister is sixteen; my younger, twelve. (Eldest is used when three or more persons are compared: He is the eldest of four brothers.) In other contexts elder does denote relatively advanced age but with the added component of respect for a person's achievement, as in an elder statesman. If age alone is to be expressed, one should use older or elderly rather than elder: A survey of older Americans; an elderly waiter. • Unlike elder and its related forms, the adjectives old, older, and oldest are applied to things as well as to persons.

[Middle English eldre, from Old English ellærn.]
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A common hedgerow bush (Sambucus nigra; American elder is S. canadensis); the flowers are used to flavour cordials, syrups, fruit jellies, and elderflower wine. The fruit is used for making jelly and wine (elderberry wine). Stems and leaves contain alkaloids that cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
adjective
noun
Definition: born earlier
Antonyms: last-born, younger, youngest
n
Definition: older person
Antonyms: junior, minor, youngster, youth
The Bible also refers to the "elders of the city" in connection with five laws appearing in Deuteronomy: blood redemption (Deut. 19:12) (see Blood Avenger), expiation of murder by an unknown assailant (Deut. 21:1-9), the Rebellious Son (ibid. 18-21), the defamation of a virgin (Deut. 22:13-21), and levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10). The apparent common denominator of all these laws is the proprietary involvement of the elders of the city in the interests of the family, clan, and community. The function of elder is distinguished in Deuteronomy from that of judge, who acts in cases of litigation and criminal prosecution (see, e.g., Deut. 17:8ff., 19:17-18, 25:1-3). The Bible recognizes elders of the entire people, men whose communal function continued even after the establishment of the monarchy (II Sam. 3:17, 5:3, 17:4, 15; I Kings 20:7). The Mishnah (Avot intro.) asserts that in the biblical period the elders (presumably of the entire people) were responsible for the continuity of religious tradition after the death of
In the talmudic period, the title "elder" became identified with scholarship, the Talmud claiming the Hebrew zaken to be an acronym of the Hebrew words, "he has acquired wisdom" (Kid. 32b). The Talmud discusses the case of the
After the talmudic period, the title "elder" is used for both a communal leader and a scholar. From the middle of the 18th century, however, it disappears almost completely. On the other hand, modern anti-Semites have used the term to evoke the image of an aging Jewish leadership plotting political control of the entire planet, notably in the notorious. late-19th century forgery, the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" (see
Traditional attitudes towards the elder are contradictory. Many people thought it evil, and would never lop it, bring its flowers into the house, or make tools from its wood; to burn it would bring death, or the Devil, into the house. Its shade was thought to poison all other plants, and even humans sleeping nearby; also, a gash from an elder stick supposedly never heals, and babies rocked in elder-wood cradles always die young. Some said this was because Judas hanged himself on an elder, others that it is ‘a witch-tree’ (cf. Rollright Stones). In some districts anyone about to cut elder wood asked permission, though the formula used had a trick in it: ‘Owd Gal, give me of thy wood, and Oi will give some of moine, when Oi graws inter a tree’ (or, ‘when I am dead’, in other versions).
In contrast, others though it sacred, because the Cross was made of elder wood; it would never be struck by lightning, and one near a house would drive away all evil, especially witches. Its leaves or twigs, carried in the pocket, were a defence against witchcraft and a cure for rheumatism; a necklace of its twigs prevented fits.
Elderflower tea and elderberry wine were good for coughs, colds, and fevers, and the bark boiled in milk for jaundice; the leaves were used in poultices and ointments, for example for grazes and for eczema. The smell of the leaves repels flies and wasps, so elder bushes were planted outside the windows of dairies and larders, and round outdoor lavatories.Vickery, 1995: 118-26; Allen and Hatfield, 2004: 270-72; Roud, 2003: 167-70; Opie and Tatem, 1989: 127-9.
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Elder is a surname that means "older than you".
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Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - ældre, ældste, gamle, tidligere generationer, medlem af ældreråd
n. - de ældre, de ældste
idioms:
2.
n. - hyld
Nederlands (Dutch)
oudere, superieur/ voorganger, ouderling, vlier
Français (French)
1.
adj. - aîné (de deux)
n. - aîné, (Relig) membre du conseil d'une église presbytérienne
idioms:
2.
n. - (Bot) sureau
Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - älter
n. - Alter, Ältester, Holunder
idioms:
2.
n. - (Br.) Schwarzerle, (bot) Holunder
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πρωτότοκος, (ο) μεγαλύτερος στα χρόνια, δημογέροντας, προεστός, (φυτολ.) σαμπούκος, αφροξυλιά
adj. - μεγαλύτερος στα χρόνια, γεροντότερος, πρεσβύτερος
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
anziano, sambuco
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - ancião (m), antepassado (m), sabugueiro (m) (Bot.)
adj. - mais antigo, primogênito
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
старец, старший, старшина, бузина, самбук
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - mayor, de más edad, más antiguo, viejo, superior
n. - mayor, anciano, jefe de tribu o familia, dignatario, funcionario eclesiástico
idioms:
2.
n. - saúco, sabuco, sabugo
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - församlingsäldste
adj. - äldre
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 年长的, 资深的, 年长者, 前辈, 老人
idioms:
2. 接骨木
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adj. - 年長的, 資深的
n. - 年長者, 前輩, 老人
idioms:
2.
n. - 接骨木
한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 손위의, 연장의
n. - 연장자, 조상, 원로
2.
n. - 넓은 잎 딱총나무의 일종
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 年上の, 先輩の, 古参の, 長老の
n. - 年長者, 先輩, 元老, ニワトコ, 年上の人
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الأكبر سنا (صفه) أكبر سنا
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - קשיש, מבוגר, בכיר, גדול
n. - קשיש, מבוגר
n. - סמבוק (שיח נוי)
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