elder
- adjective
- /ˈɛldər/
- Archaic
- My elder brother taught me how to ride a bike.
you wanted my elder brother to go with your elder brother. Here he is. Akbar got really angry. Are you trying to insult my brother?
- you wanted my elder brother to go with your elder brother. Here he is. Akbar got really angry. Are you trying to insult my brother?
Examples
-
Death visited the family again when an elder brother died of cholera in August 1902.
Academic text (2006) -
Oda was born on 24 February 1923 in Sapporo, Japan, the elder son of a distinguished physician.
Academic text (2001) -
So that I could keep looking for my wife and my elder son.
-
To my elder son, a scientist.
-
But why, Lisa asked herself now, did her elder sister always get everything?
Fiction book (1994) -
Her mother in Tokyo and her elder brother had both advised her to go away to recover.
Fiction book (1996) -
Jacques Aulard, his elder brother, left one morning never to come back.
Fiction book (2001) -
In the family photo, my father is marked as elder to distinguish him from my son.
-
We celebrated my elder sister's birthday with a big party.
Synonyms
Used after a name to show the person born before another person with the same name
A title after a man's name that shows he is the older family member with the same name
Compounds
- Literature
A respected older man who is a former leader and whose advice people value
- UK
A common shrub or small tree with clusters of dark berries used for making jam and wine
- US
A North American fast-growing maple tree with leaves made of several parts, often used for shade
A tall annual plant that grows in wet rich soil and causes skin and pollen allergies
A maple tree that grows on the Pacific coast of the United States with white fruit
- UK
A small tree or bush with white flower clusters and dark berries used to make jam
- UK
A small wild plant with strong-smelling white flowers and black berries used in medicine
- Specialized
A shrub with clusters of dark purple berries used to make wine and jam
- US
A North American bush that people use to make jam and wine from its purple-black berries
Surface Forms
Etymology
Elder (after a name) is the adjective that means 'older' and is used after a name to show someone is the older of two people with the same name, so elder John is the older John.