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Definition of elder noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

elder

noun
 
/ˈeldə(r)/
 
/ˈeldər/
 Idioms
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  1. elders
     [plural] people of greater age, experience and authority
    • Children have no respect for their elders nowadays.
    • the village elders (= the old and respected people of the village)
    • Traditions were passed on by the elders of the tribe.
    Topics Life stagesc1
  2. my, etc. elder
     [singular] (formal) a person older than me, etc.
    • He is her elder by several years.
  3. [countable] an official in some Christian churches
  4. [countable] a small tree with white flowers with a sweet smell (elderflowers) and bunches of small black berries (elderberries)
    5. Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 Old English ieldra, eldra, of Germanic origin; related to German älter, also to old. noun sense 4 Old English ellærn; related to Middle Low German ellern, elderne.
Idioms
your elders and betters
  1. people who are older and wiser than you and that you should respect
See elder in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee elder in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: elder

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