Etymology of old

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group. · A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager. · One's parents. · A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method.

adj

Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. · Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years. · Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life. · Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related to others.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós Proto-Germanic *aldaz Proto-West Germanic *ald Anglian Old English ald Middle English old English old Inherited from Middle English old, oold, from Old English ald, eald (“old, aged, ancient, antique, primeval”), from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), originally a participle form, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grown, tall, big”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aald, auld (“old”), Yola yola, yolaw, yold, yole (“old”), North Frisian ool, ual, uuil, uul, üülj (“old”), Saterland Frisian oold (“old”), West Frisian âld (“old”), Alemannic German altu, oalt, oalts, olt, àltà (“old”), Bavarian oid (“old”), Central Franconian alt, aod, auw, oot (“old”), Cimbrian and German alt (“old”), Dutch oud (“old”), German Low German old, oolt (“old”), Luxembourgish al (“old”), Mòcheno òlt (“old”), Vilamovian aołd (“old”), Yiddish אַלט (alt, “old”), Danish ældre (“elderly”), Faroese eldri (“elder, older”), Icelandic aldinn (“old”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk eldre (“elderly”), Swedish äldre (“elderly”), Crimean Gothic alt (“old”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis, “old”), Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”). Related to eld.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Root classification mention*h₂el- (grow)ine-pro
Inherited-form mentionoldenm
Inherited-form mentionaldang
Inherited-form mention*aldgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*aldazgem-pro · grown-up
Inherited-form mention*h₂el-ine-pro
Cognate mentionaaldsco
Cognate mentionyolayol
Cognate mentionoolfrr
Cognate mentionooldstq · old
Cognate mentionâldfy · old
Cognate mentionaltugsw
Cognate mentionoidbar · old
Cognate mentionaltgmw-cfr
Cognate mentionoudnl · old
Cognate mentionallb · old
Cognate mentionòltmhn · old
Cognate mentionaołdwym · old
Cognate mentionאַלטyi · old
Cognate mentionældreda · elderly
Cognate mentioneldrifo · elder, older
Cognate mentionaldinnis · old
Cognate mentionäldresv · elderly
Cognate mentionaltgme-cgo · old
Cognate mention𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃got · old
Cognate mentionaltusla · high, tall, grown big, lofty

This page abbreviates 13 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂el- (grow)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:old",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *h₂eltós\nProto-Germanic *aldaz\nProto-West Germanic *ald\nAnglian Old English ald\nMiddle English old\nEnglish old\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*aldaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ald\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Anglian Old English\", \"term\" : \"eald\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang-ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"old\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"old\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"old\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "old",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English old"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English old"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ald"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ald"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*ald"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *ald"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*aldaz",
        "t": "grown-up"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂el-",
        "4": "*h₂eltós",
        "5": "grown, tall, big"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grown, tall, big”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "aald"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots aald"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "yola"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola yola"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "ool"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian ool"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "oold",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian oold (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "âld",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian âld (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "altu"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German altu"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "oid",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian oid (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-cfr",
        "2": "alt"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Franconian alt"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim,de",
        "2": "alt",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian and German alt (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "oud",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch oud (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German old"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "al",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish al (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mhn",
        "2": "òlt",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Mòcheno òlt (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "aołd",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian aołd (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "אַלט",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish אַלט (alt, “old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "ældre",
        "t": "elderly"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish ældre (“elderly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "eldri",
        "t": "elder, older"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese eldri (“elder, older”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "aldinn",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic aldinn (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb,nn",
        "2": "eldre",
        "t": "elderly"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk eldre (“elderly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "äldre",
        "t": "elderly"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish äldre (“elderly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gme-cgo",
        "2": "alt",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Crimean Gothic alt (“old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃",
        "t": "old"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis, “old”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "altus",
        "t": "high, tall, grown big, lofty"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:old",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *h₂eltós\nProto-Germanic *aldaz\nProto-West Germanic *ald\nAnglian Old English ald\nMiddle English old\nEnglish old"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_grow"
    ],
    [
      "*aldaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aldaz"
    ],
    [
      "*ald",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ald"
    ],
    [
      "ald",
      "eald#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "old",
      "old#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "old",
      "old#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "oold",
      "oold#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ald",
      "ald#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "eald",
      "eald#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ald",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ald"
    ],
    [
      "*aldaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aldaz"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂eltós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-"
    ],
    [
      "aald",
      "aald#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "auld",
      "auld#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "yola",
      "yola#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "yolaw",
      "yolaw#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "yold",
      "yold#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "yole",
      "yole#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "ool",
      "ool#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ual",
      "ual#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "uuil",
      "uuil#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "uul",
      "uul#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "üülj",
      "üülj#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "oold",
      "oold#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "âld",
      "âld#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "altu",
      "altu#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "oalt",
      "oalt#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "oalts",
      "oalts#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "olt",
      "olt#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "àltà",
      "àltà#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "oid",
      "oid#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "alt",
      "alt#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "aod",
      "aod#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "auw",
      "auw#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "oot",
      "oot#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "Cimbrian",
      "alt#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "alt",
      "alt#German"
    ],
    [
      "oud",
      "oud#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "old",
      "old#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "oolt",
      "oolt#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "al",
      "al#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "òlt",
      "òlt#Mòcheno"
    ],
    [
      "aołd",
      "aołd#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "אַלט",
      "אַלט#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "ældre",
      "ældre#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "eldri",
      "eldri#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "aldinn",
      "aldinn#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "eldre#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "eldre",
      "eldre#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "äldre",
      "äldre#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "alt",
      "alt#Crimean_Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃",
      "𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "altus",
      "altus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "eld",
      "eld#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.",
        "A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.",
        "One's parents.",
        "A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "invariable",
        "plural",
        "plural-only",
        "uncountable",
        "slang",
        "Australia"
      ],
      "recordId": "510326f35221a591dbe363dcc10995eba580c550b6362d20d6c5d494d1776b72",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 38739
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.",
        "Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.",
        "Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.",
        "Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related to others."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "f4c2e58336abc506abf0e84ead92751bb6f6242fe3f2264aa4a7e69a38b31ca9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d81625620d444c9153dce3c50e823097fc0815b5930fa010e8e41c4187ca5d39",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 38738
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 13,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

The source etymologies

Unnumbered source etymology

Relationships mentioned by the source

Where this record stops

Source and snapshot