eldern.1
/ˈɛldə/, U.S. /ˈɛldər/ 1. A low tree or shrub, Sambucus nigra (family Caprifoliaceæ), called, for distinction, the Common or Black-berried Elder; bearing umbel-like corymbs of white flowers; the young branches are remarkable for their abundance of pith.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > elder > [noun]
eldera700
bourtreec1450
white umbrella1658
parsley-leaved elder1731
Judas tree1886
a700 Epinal Gloss. 893 Sambucus, ellaen.
a800 Corpus Gloss. 1175 Sambucus, ellaern.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 68 Wiþ fotece genim ellenes leaf.
c1150 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 556 Sambucus, suew, ellarne.
c1325 Gloss. W. de Biblesw. in T. Wright Voc. 163 De suhen (hildertre, helren) font les souheaus.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 66 Iudas he Iapede with þe Iewes seluer And on an Ellerne treo [v.r. eldir; 1377 B. i. 68 eller] hongede him after.
c1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. 646 Hec sambuca, hyllortre.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum Eldyr or hyldyr, or hillerne tre [v.r. hillar; hyltre, or elerne; elder, or hyltre, or elorne].
a1450 Alphita 161 Sambucus..ellen.
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy v. xlii, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 158 Wene they..to have..of an Elder an Apple swete?
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxixv The stakes of..ellore be good.
1608 H. Plat Floraes Paradise Beautified 21 Euery plant of an Eldern will grow.
1615 W. Lawson New Orchard & Garden (1648) 3 Some thinke the..eller [would have] a waterish marish.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. iii. 27 My heart of Elder . View more context for this quotation
1744 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons (new ed.) 21 Then seek the Bank where flowering Elders croud.
1876 J. Harley Royle's Man. Materia Med. (ed. 6) 576 The Elder, indigenous in Europe, was known to the Greeks.
2.
a. Extended to other species of the genus Sambucus; in North America applied chiefly to S. canadensis. With distinguishing epithets: dwarf elder n., ground elder n., dog elder ( S. Ebulus) = Danewort n. wild elder n. used by Lyte for S. racemosa.
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xliv. 379 The nature and vertues of the wilde Eldren are as yet unknowen.
b. In popular names of other plants bearing a superficial resemblance to the elder: bishop's elder n., dog elder n., dwarf elder n., ground elder n., wild elder n. (cf. 2) names for Goutweed ( Ægopodium Podagraria). ground elder n. Angelica silvestris. marsh elder n. (or marish elder) , water elder n., white elder n. = guelder rose n. ( Viburnum Opulus).
3. Misused for alder n.1
ΚΠ
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Di Thelder, aulne.
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Alno negro, the blacke Elder-tree.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. Also elderberry n., etc.
a.
elder-blossom n.
ΚΠ
1862 W. Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. I. 76 A vield..Where elder-blossoms be a-spread.
elder-branch n.
ΚΠ
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Nov. 147 The Muses..Now bringen bitter Eldre braunches seare.
elder-bud n.
ΚΠ
1642 T. Fuller Holy State i. v. 12 In the beginning of the spring..sallads are made of eldern-buds.
elder-bush n.
ΚΠ
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. i. 4 A hut, or farmhouse..surrounded by large elder-bushes.
elder-flower n.
ΚΠ
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §692 Of this kind are Elder-flowers, which therefore are proper for the Stone.
1718 J. Quincy Pharmacopœia Officinalis 133 Elder-flowers..Flowers from May to July.
elder-pith n.
ΚΠ
a1640 J. Day & H. Chettle Blind-beggar (1659) sig. G4v Thou wither'd Elder-pith.
elder-stick n.
ΚΠ
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. 425/1 No more then..thys greke woorde presbyteros signifyeth an elder sticke.
elder-tree n.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxliv. 1043 Þe ellerne tree is hoot and druye and ryndes, leues, and floures þerof acordeþ to medycyne.
1566 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes iii. i. 11 b Foure vnces of the water of Elderne tree.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 32 The Arabian Costus is the Root of a Shrub very like an Elder Tree.
elder-vinegar n.
ΚΠ
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 150. ⁋6 They had dissented..about the Preference of Elder to Wine-Vinegar.
elder-wine n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > non-grape and home-made wines > [noun] > elderberry wine
ebulum1713
elder-wine1735
elderberry-wine1841
1735 G. Berkeley Querist §151 Men of nice palates have been imposed on, by elder wine for French claret.
elder-wood n.
ΚΠ
1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) v. 464 A young stick of elder wood.
b.
elder-leaved adj.
ΚΠ
1882 Garden 23 Sept. 273/1 The Elder-leaved or black Ash..the leaves of which..are serrated.
C2.
elder-blow n. elder-blossom.
ΚΠ
1875 R. W. Emerson Poetry & Imag. in Wks. (1906) III. 154 The scent of an elder-blow..is event enough for him.
elder-gun n. a pop-gun made of a hollow shoot of elder.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > toy weapons > [noun]
poop1489
pellet1553
trunk1553
elder-gun1600
popgun1649
spitter1688
pluff1695
whistling arrowa1718
pea-shooter1782
pea gun1812
detonating ball1814
pea-blower1821
pen-gun1821
pipegun1828
torpedo1831
spring gun1837
putty blower1861
tweaker1862
pluffera1866
bean-shooter1890
putty shooter1896
water pistol1897
stink bomb1915
cap-pistol1920
cap-gun1931
laser gun1961
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V iv. i. 197 Tis a great displeasure That an elder gun, can do against a cannon.
1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. M As Boies do Pellets in Elderne Gunnes.
elder-moth n. Uropteryx Sambucata.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
eldern.2
dialect.
The udder of a cow or mare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > cow > [noun] > (miscellaneous) parts of > udder
stock1608
elder1673
milk-vessel1842
1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 17 The Elder: the Udder.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. vii. 262 Which was a yard and an inch high at 2 days old, and had..milk in its elder.
1797 J. Downing Treat. Disorders Horned Cattle 87 The beast should be..milked quite clean out of the elder.
1875 Lanc. Gloss. (E.D.S.) Hur [the cow's] elder's a bit sore.
1880 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. s.v. (E.D.S.) The mar'..wuz glad to see the cowt for 'er elder wuz as 'ard as a stwun.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
elderadj.n.3
/ˈɛldə/, U.S. /ˈɛldər/ A. adj. The comparative of old adj.; formerly equivalent to the modern older adj. and n., but now restricted to certain special uses.† 2. † 3. elder man n. Obsolete = B. 2, B. 3. Sometimes written as one word elderman.† 5. Of or pertaining to a more advanced period of life; later. Obsolete.In this sense elder days are the opposite of the elder days of sense A. 6, just as an older portrait has a younger face.
1. That has lived or existed longer; senior, more advanced in age.† a. Formerly used (both of persons and things) as a predicate; also as an attribute followed by than. Now superseded by older adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [adjective] > older than an age > older
elderOE
greater?a1425
large1788
OE Riddle 40 42 Ic eom micle yldra þonne ymbhwyrft þes oþþe þes middangeard meahte geweorþan.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 23 A þet ic beo ealdre.
c1200 Moral Ode (Egerton MS.) 1 Ic æm elder þænne ic wæs, a winter and a lore.
a1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 277 Swa þu eldere wex, swa þu pourere was.
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxvi. f. 56v If she shall be as olde, or elder than I am.
1593 T. Bilson Perpetual Govt. Christes Church 364 The lawes of forren countries are farre elder then ours.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 248 How much more elder art thou then thy lookes. View more context for this quotation
a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) ii. xxxiv. 161 Friendship is like wine, the elder the better.
1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity i. vii. 203 A custom probably not much elder than his time.
b. as attribute without than. Not now used of things, except with quasi-personification. Now chiefly with nouns denoting family relationship, or as denoting the senior of two indicated persons; otherwise somewhat archaic. Often with omission of the noun implied in the context.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > relationship to parent > [adjective] > elder of two children
elderc888
olderc1435
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. viii Ic ðe geongne gelærde swelce snytro swylce manegum oþrum ieldran gewittum oftogen is.
c975 Durham Gosp. Luke xv. 25 Wæs ða sunu his ældra on lond.
OE Beowulf 468 Wæs Heregar dead, min yldra mæg.
1279 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 367 Margarete..Þe eldore of þe tuo, in spoushod he nome.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xv. 25 Forsoth his eldere sone was in the feeld.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3861 Þe eilder sister he for-sok.
c1478 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 38 The said Wil. Rycroft yelder.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 5 The elther suster vndirstode hym wele.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Mar. (1837) II. 26 It is a great part of the work of the elder [1966 ed.: older] slaves to take care of these young girls.
1745 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) VIII. 217 These are too young; send elder men.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. xvi. 244 Elder brother's care And elder brother's love were there.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xvii. 47 The Cathedral Church of the bishoprick whose throne is now hidden in the elder minster of Saint Fritheswyth.
c. elder statesman n. in Japan, a member of the Genro n.; transferred, a person of ripe years and experience whose counsel is therefore sought and valued.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > wise man, sage > [noun] > of ripe years
elder statesman1921
1921 Contemp. Rev. July 8 Prince Yamagata..continues the most influential member of the Genro, or Elder Statesmen.
1923 19th Cent. Jan. 138 The exclusive powers of the genro, or elder statesmen, are passing with the men themselves.
1932 Fortune Sept. 100 This choice was exercised by the last of the genro, or ‘Elder Statesmen’, Prince Saionji, aged eighty-three.
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Elder statesmen. a In Japan, an informal body (genro)... b Any similar class of persons.
1935 G. Greene Bear fell Free One should have made some prescient elder-statesman pronouncement.
1937 John o' London's Weekly 15 Jan. 667 (heading) Balfour, the Elder Statesman.
1955 H. Spring These Lovers fled Away ii. 61 When you are twelve, a boy of fifteen..seems almost an elder statesman.
1958 Observer 19 Oct. 22/4 Professor Tawney is the elder statesman of English economic history.
1959 T. S. Eliot Elder Statesman ii. 56 The difference between being an elder statesman And posing successfully as an elder statesman Is practically negligible.
a. Of an obligation, right, or title: Of longer standing, prior, that has superior validity. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective]
ererc888
fernOE
oldOE
oldOE
formerc1160
ratherc1330
before-goingc1384
formerc1384
forenexta1400
formea1400
while1399
antecedentc1400
precedentc1400
anteceding?a1425
late1446
whilom1452
preceding?a1475
forne1485
fore1490
heretofore1491
foregoing1530
toforegoing1532
further1557
firster1571
then1584
elder1594
quondam1598
forehand1600
previant1601
preallable1603
prior1607
anterior1608
previal1613
once1620
previous1621
predecessivea1627
antecedaneous?1631
preventive1641
prior1641
precedaneous1645
preventional1649
antegredient1652
senior1655
prevenient1656
precedential1661
antecedental1763
past-gone1784
antevenient1800
aforetime1835
one-time1850
onewhile1882
foretime1894
erstwhile1903
antecedane-
ere-
1594 W. West Symbolæogr.: 2nd Pt. ii. Chancerie §139 It cannot be intended that..he would have left the elder bond..unsued for.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. iv. §286. 126 If the possession bee not devested out of them, by an elder title.
b. Of officials, etc.: That ranks before others by virtue of longer service; senior. Obsolete. ( Elder Brethren: see brother n. 6b.)
ΚΠ
1721–1800 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Elder Battalion, that Battalion which was first raised, and has the post of honour according to its standing. Elder Officers, such officers whose Commissions bear the eldest Date.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > senior person > [noun]
elderc1175
seniorc1380
elder mana1387
older1484
ancient1548
dad?1576
doyen1670
dean1687
daddy1877
key man1895
doyenne1905
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] > member of
elder1382
elder mana1387
senator1387
parliament mana1744
MHK1780
state senator1800
parliamentarian1889
MLA1897
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 41 Þe senatoures and elder men of Rome.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5784 Ga gedir samen þin eldir men.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 2 Jerom, & Gregor take a wey þe name of þe bischop, or heldarman.
1530 Compend. Olde Treat. sig. Aiij Ye prophet Moyses hade chosen seuenty elder men.
1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais iv. xxv So they call'd their eldest Elderman.
4. In Card-playing. elder hand n. the first player. Cf. eldest adj. 5.
ΚΠ
1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet C iiij The poore Church should play at vnequal game, for it should loose al by the Elder hand.
1746 E. Hoyle Whist (ed. 6) 22 You are elder Hand.
1873 ‘Cavendish’ Piquet 29 The pack is then cut by the non-dealer, or elder hand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective] > later
overeOE
latterOE
posterior1534
later1542
lateward1577
elder1597
inferior1641
ulterior1646
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. iii. 43 I tender you my seruice..raw, and young, Which elder daies shal ripen. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. i. 14 To second illes with illes, each elder worse. View more context for this quotation
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews xvi. xi, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 535 He also was guilty of..a crime in his elder age.
6.
a. That existed at a previous time; ancient, earlier, former.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [adjective]
formerc1160
apassedc1314
past1340
preterite1340
eldera1400
elderna1400
eldernlya1400
bygone1424
bypast1452
ancient1490
by-runa1522
bywenta1522
spent1528
departed1552
forepassed1557
preter1578
by-come1592
worn-out1594
preterlapsed1599
foregone1609
worna1616
elapseda1644
lapsed1702
surpassed1725
gone-by1758
back1808
old-time1865
by-flown1884
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23867 We..In eldern men vr mirur se.
1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. 8 Many of the Elder Year-Books are Filled with Law, now not so much in use.
1828 C. Lamb Blakesmoor in Elia 2nd Ser. 173 Curiosity prevailing over elder devotion.
1868 C. M. Yonge Cameos 1st Ser. Introd. 2 The elder England has been so fully written of.
b. Of or pertaining to ancient times or to an earlier period.
ΚΠ
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 202 In eeldir daies, whanne processioun was mad.
1610 W. Baldwin et al. in Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Induct. xii. 7 What thinges were done, in elder times of olde.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. iv. 201 Huge as the giant race of elder times.
1867 G. A. Macfarren Six Lect. Harmony ii. 35 Modern writers..may produce compositions in the elder style.
B. n.3 An elder person, literal and figurative.† 1. † b. transferred (see quot. 1719) Obsolete.
a. A parent [compare modern German Eltern, plural.] ; an ancestor, forefather; hence, in wider sense, a predecessor, one who lived in former days. Almost exclusively in plural. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun]
elder-fathereOE
fatherOE
elder971
alderOE
eldfatherOE
forme-fadera1200
ancestorc1300
grandsirec1300
aiela1325
belsirea1325
predecessora1325
forefather1377
morea1382
progenitorc1384
antecessorc1400
forn-fatherc1460
forebear1488
ancient1540
antecestrec1550
fore-grandsirec1550
grandfather1575
ascendant1604
forerunnera1616
ancienter1654
tupuna1845
971 Blickl. Hom. 195 Ure yldran swultan and swiþe oft us from wendan.
OE Cynewulf Elene 462 Ða me yldra min ageaf ondsware, frod on fyrhðe fæder reordode.
a1067 Chart. Eadweard in Cod. Dipl. IV. 167 For mines fader and for allra minra yldrena sawlan.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 123 Helle..we weren in bifolen þurh ure eldra gult.
c1230 Hali Meid. 27 Feire children..gladien muchel þe ealdren.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3634 Þet me mine ældre [c1300 Otho eldre] dude scome.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 11 Here elderne..were y nome in ostage Fram the bataile of Troie.
c1325 Metr. Hom. 109 Underlout till thaim was he, Als god child au til elderes be.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iv. 419 Þat agag of amalek · and al hus lyge puple Sholde deye delfulliche · for dedes of here eldren.
c1440 York Myst. xxvii. 14 That with oure elthers euer has bene.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vii. iv. 44 And sett himselfe amyde his elderis trone.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) John ix. 18 They called the elders of him that had receaued his sight.
1557 New Test. (Geneva) 2 Tim. i. 3 I thanke God, whome I serue from myne elders with pure conscience.
ΚΠ
1719 G. London & H. Wise J. de la Quintinie's Compl. Gard'ner (ed. 7) vi. 115 Some [branches] shoot directly out of the main Body..and may be called Elders, or Mothers.
2.
a. (A person's) superior in age, senior. Almost exclusively in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > senior person > [noun]
elderc1175
seniorc1380
elder mana1387
older1484
ancient1548
dad?1576
doyen1670
dean1687
daddy1877
key man1895
doyenne1905
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13215 He þatt iss þin elldre.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 12092 To his eldre worship drawe.
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 125 That yonger men obeye unto thaire eldron.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. iii. f. 11 I haif had..vnderstanding abone my eldaris.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 7 So well I know my dutie to my elders . View more context for this quotation
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 7 If our Elders break all Reason's laws.
1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 411 I..leave my elders to judge of them.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 47 The child..undoubtingly listens to..his elders.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 21 The younger ones with jubilant cries Broke from their elders.
b. A person advanced in life.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old man > [noun]
old maneOE
bevara1275
beauperec1300
vieillard1475
Nestor?c1510
old gentleman1526
haga1529
velyarda1529
old fellow?1555
old sire1557
granfer1564
vecchioc1570
ageman1571
grave-porer1582
grandsire1595
huddle-duddle1599
elder1600
pantaloon1602
cuffc1616
crone1630
old boya1637
codger?1738
dry-beard1749
eld1796
patriarch1819
oubaas1824
old chap1840
pap1844
pop1844
tad1877
old baas1882
senex1898
finger1904
AK1911
alte kacker1911
poppa stoppa1944
madala1960
Ntate1975
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 260 The witherd elder hath not his poule clawd like a parrot. View more context for this quotation
1638 G. Sandys Paraphr. Iob xxix. 16 in Paraphr. Divine Poems From their seats the reverend elders rose.
1884 Illustr. London News 20 Sept. 268/12 The three elders, his companions in this terrible adventure, are now brought home.
3. A member of a ‘senate’, governing body or class, consisting of men venerable for age, or conventionally supposed to be so. Now chiefly Historical.Originally as transl. of the seniores of the Vulgate, rendering the Hebrew z'qēnīm (lit. ‘old men’). Cf. the equivalent Greek γέροντες.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > [noun] > senior
ealdormanOE
seniorc1380
elder1382
seneka1400
ancient1534
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > [noun] > member of
elder1382
elder mana1387
senator1387
parliament mana1744
MHK1780
state senator1800
parliamentarian1889
MLA1897
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xix. 12 The aldren [MS. C. elderes; a1425 L.V. eldere men] of that citee shulen seende.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Susanna 50 The elders (that is the principall heades) sayde.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. xi. 31 The lettre which we dyd wryte vnto oure elder Lasthenus.
1611 Bible (King James) Ruth iv. 9 Boaz saide vnto the Elders, and vnto all the people. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. i. 226 See our best Elders . View more context for this quotation
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xviii. 586 The rev'rend Elders nodded o'er the Case.
1815 M. Elphinstone Acct. Kingdom Caubul ii. ii. 166 To which the chief and elders always lend their weight.
1870 W. E. Gladstone Primer of Homer (1878) 116 They bear the general appellation of gerontes, elders, as well as kings.
4.
a. In ecclesiastical use. A literal rendering of Greek πρεσβύτερος, the title given to a certain order or class of office-bearers in the early Christian Church. The Greek word was adopted in ecclesiastical Latin as presbyter, and its historical representative in English is priest n. In certain Protestant churches, chiefly those called Presbyterian, the English word elder (with presbyter as an occasional synonym) is used as the designation of a class of officers intended to correspond in function to the ‘elders’ of the apostolic church.In the Presbyterian churches the term elders includes the clergy (for distinction called ‘teaching elders’), but in ordinary language it is restricted to the lay or ruling elders, who are chosen in each parish or congregation to act with the minister in the management of church affairs.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > ecclesiastical discipline > court > presbyterian > [noun] > kirk-session > member of
elder1526
presbyter1581
lay elder1593
ruling elder1593
elderling1606
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xv. 6 And apostlis and eldre men camen to gidere.]
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Titus i. 5 That thou..shuldest ordeyne elders [ Wyclif, preestis] in every citie.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 237/2 Seing ye Church is compared to a flocke..the word shepeherde signifieth an Elder, not by age, but by office.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan iii. xlii. 289 Timothy was an Elder.
1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 288 When their Bishops are pull'd down, Our Elders shall be Sainted.
1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) iv. 426 Most of the churches..had one or more ruling elder.
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 456 Robin..Play'd me sic a trick And me the Eller's dochter.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. viii. 419 The Kirk Session is..composed of the minister of the parish, and of lay-elders. New elders are chosen by the session.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish 31 The excellent Elder of Plymouth.
b. An order of priests in the Catholic Apostolic Church.
ΚΠ
1828 E. Irving Serm. I. p. xxiii These Sermons on the Incarnation..you received with all acceptation; and the Elders whom God hath set over you made choice of them to stand first in these volumes.
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 238/1 Four-and-twenty priests, divided into the four ministries of ‘elders, prophets, evangelists, and pastors’... The understanding is that each elder, with his co-presbyters and deacons, shall have charge of 500 adult communicants in his district.
c. A minister of any denomination. U.S. local.
ΚΠ
1792 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 1st Ser. II. 30 In the year 1673 settlers..employed one Elder Jones as their preacher.
1851 Second Advent Rev. & Sabbath Herald (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) 21 July 3/3 Elder Jesse Thompson and his companion [wife], (at whose table we are now writing,) were of this number.
1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels i. xix. 140 Take a young fellow from Hamilton or Rochester..and call him Elder, as his country brethren and sisters always will.
1921 R. M. Jones Later Periods Quakerism I. iv. 120 Even now in the rural districts of New England a minister of any denomination is called ‘Elder’.
1925 Z. A. Tilghman Dugout 7 I can remember some of the elder's sermon that day.
d. Quakerism. An officer of the Society of Friends appointed by a monthly meeting and responsible for the organization and proper conduct of meetings held within the jurisdiction of the monthly meeting.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Quakerism > [noun] > person > officer
elder1703
1703 Yearly Meeting Epistle (Friends House) 1 We..tenderly Recommend unto Faithful Friends, and Elders especially, to Watch over the Flock of Christ.
1789 Yearly Meeting Minutes (Friends House) XVIII. 527 This Committee is of the Judgment that the offices of Elder & Overseer are distinct.
1847 W. Evans & T. Evans Friends' Library XI. 425/2 This Epistle [of 31 Mar. 1672] seems to be specially addressed to Ministers, and those filling the responsible station of overseers of the flock; the duties subsequently assigned to Elders, probably devolved at this time, on the faithful, perhaps in both the stations above mentioned, but..especially on overseers.
1917 E. Grubb What is Quakerism? v. 99 The principal offices in the Society of Friends are those of Overseer and Elder. These officers are appointed, triennially, by the Monthly Meetings... The main work of the Elders is to foster more directly the spiritual life of the congregations, specially in regard to the vocal ministry.
1921 R. M. Jones Later Periods Quakerism I. iv. 132 Like the Elders, they had no absolute rules to guide them, but there slowly accumulated..a body of Advices and Queries which furnished the Overseers with a pretty clear line of procedure.
1974 G. Hubbard Quaker by Convincement iv. iii. 209 The whole concept of Elders and Overseers is that the functions of spiritual and material caring which would elsewhere devolve on a professional pastor should be carried by lay members.
1983 Milligan & Thomas My Ancestors were Quakers 14 The word ‘elder’ appears in Quaker documents from commonwealth days..here it means a seasoned Friend... The specific appointment by monthly meetings of elders ‘to counsel ministers’ belongs to the first half of the 18th century.
Special uses
S1.
elder-born adj.
ΚΠ
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad II. xv. 81 Elder-born am I.
S2.
elder-brotherhood n. the state or dignity of an elder brother.
ΚΠ
1884 Littell's Living Age No. 2077. 66 Its elder-brotherhood Writ on the face of its perfected plan.
elder-brotherly adj. pertaining or proper to an elder brother or sister.
ΚΠ
1823 ‘G. Smith’ Not Paul, but Jesus 370 (note) This..assumed fatherly affection, under the name of elder-brotherly..what was it?
elder-sisterly adj. see elder-brotherly adj.
ΚΠ
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne II. viii. 163 ‘So I told them’, said Fanny, with a demure, elder-sisterly air.
Compounds
elder-like adv.
ΚΠ
1641 Wits Recreations (new ed.) sig. N5 Now most Elder-like he can Behave himselfe.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 542 Fathers of the church..what! elder-like Would ye this fairer than Susannah eye?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
elderv.
1. transitive. to elder it: to play the elder (brother or sister). nonce-word.
ΚΠ
1855 Chambers's Jrnl. 3 243 She elders it with such tender protection over the little sister.
2. intransitive. To become older, to begin to show age.
ΚΠ
1876 [see eldering adj. at Derivatives].
1885 S. W. Mitchell In War Time xii. 186 Before she went away she was what my nurse used to call ‘eldering’.
Derivatives
ˈeldering adj. poetic and colloquial
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [adjective] > growing old
western1615
veterascent1642
senescent1656
not so (or as) young as one was (or used to be)1747
oldening1865
eldering1876
waning1895
1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xviii, in Poems (1967) 57 Never-eldering revel and river of youth.
1949 O. Nash Versus 121 In my eldering age.
Draft additions 1993
transitive. Of an elder in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers): to admonish (a Friend, esp. for inappropriate behaviour).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > rebuke or reprove [verb (transitive)]
threac897
threapc897
begripea1000
threata1000
castea1200
chaste?c1225
takec1275
blame1297
chastya1300
sniba1300
withnima1315
undernima1325
rebukec1330
snuba1340
withtakea1340
reprovec1350
chastisea1375
arate1377
challenge1377
undertake1377
reprehenda1382
repreync1390
runta1398
snapea1400
underfoc1400
to call to account1434
to put downc1440
snebc1440
uptakec1440
correptc1449
reformc1450
reprise?c1450
to tell (a person) his (also her, etc.) own1450
control1451
redarguec1475
berisp1481
to hit (cross) one over (of, on) the thumbs1522
checkc1530
admonish1541
nip1548
twig?1550
impreve1552
lesson1555
to take down1562
to haul (a person) over the coals1565
increpate1570
touch1570
school1573
to gather up1577
task1580
redarguate?1590
expostulate1592
tutor1599
sauce1601
snip1601
sneap1611
to take in tax1635
to sharp up1647
round1653
threapen1671
reprimand1681
to take to task1682
document1690
chapter1693
repulse1746
twink1747
to speak to ——1753
haul1795
to pull up1799
carpet1840
rig1841
to talk to1860
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
rawhide1895
to tell off1897
to tell (someone) where he or she gets off1900
to get on ——1904
to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908
strafe1915
tick1915
woodshed1935
to slap (a person) down1938
sort1941
bind1942
bottle1946
mat1948
ream1950
zap1961
elder1967
1912 [see eldering adj. at Additions].
1967 A. S. Byatt Game xi. 158 He apparently brought them to Meeting, and then stood up and talked for forty-five minutes... If he'd been anyone else, he'd have been eldered after fifteen minutes.
1978 Church Times 6 Jan. 8/2 At a recent Quaker meeting we were all told not to clap, and not long ago an acquaintance of mine was mildly ‘eldered’ in a friendly way for sitting with his legs crossed.
1987 A. Heron Gifts & Ministries 8 The use of the expressions ‘eldering’ and ‘to elder’..sometimes diverts attention from the principally positive aspects of eldership.
Draft additions 1993
eldering adj. also (in sense Additions) as n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun]
telingeOE
chastiment?c1225
snapinga1300
snibbinga1300
reproving?1316
undernimminga1325
correctiona1340
threapening1340
admonishingc1350
reproofa1375
scourgingc1374
correptionc1380
repreyningc1390
reprehensiona1413
undertakingc1430
rebuke?a1439
admonition1440
correptingc1449
rebut?c1450
reprehendingc1450
redargution1483
reproval1493
increpation1502
prisec1540
tasking1543
check1588
improof1590
snubbing1600
threap1636
compellation1656
reprovement1675
reprimanding1698
rowing1812
lecturing1861
carpeting1888
eldering1912
woodshedding1940
stick1956
1912 Friends' Q. Examiner XLVI. 322 The following notes are interesting as illustrating some forms of eldering prevalent in those early days.
1955 M. H. Jones Rufus M. Jones ii. 18 A Friend took him aside..and told him, ‘Thou shouldst not have been thinking.’ The young visitor took this in good grace..but it might have wrecked his ministry, for such an eldering in such a place was a serious matter.
1986 Friends' Q. 24 165 The Earlham School of Religion and the Quaker Hill Conference Center..have sponsored a series of annual Consultations on..: eldering, discernment,..accountability.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.1a700
n.21673
adj.n.3c888v.1855