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Etymology
Dictionary
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Origin and Etymology of the word
ELDER.
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From An Etymology
Dictionary of the English Language, by Walter W. Skeat, 1893 |
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ELDER (1),
older. (E.) The use as a sb. is very
old. M.E. elder, eldre; 'tho londes that his eldres
wonnen;' Rob. of Brunne, p. 144; cf. P. Plowman, C. x.
214. In A.S., the words are distinguished. 1.
A.S. yldra, elder, adj. compar. of eald,
old. 2. A.S. ealdor, an elder, prince;
whence ealdor-man, an alderman; formed from eald, old,
with suffix -or. We also find A.S. eldran,
yldran, ældran, sb. pl. parents.
See Old,
Alderman.
Der. elder-ly, elder-ship.
ELDER (2),
the name of a tree. (E.) The d is
excrescent; the right form is eller. M.E. eller,
P. Plowman, B. i. 68; cf. ellerne treo, id. A. i. 66.—A.S.
ellen, ellern, Cockayne's Leechdom's, iii. 324. + Low G. elloorn;
Bremen Wörterbuch, i. 303. ¶ Perhaps
elder = alder. There is nothing to connect it in form with G.
holunder.
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| Etymology
Dictionary Index |
| A, B,
C, D, E,
F, G, H,
I, J, K,
L, M, N,
O, P, Q,
R, S, T,
U, V, W,
X, Y, Z
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| Key |
| Arab.=Arabic. |
| A.S.=Anglo
Saxon. |
| Bavar.=Bavarian |
| Bohem.=Bohemian. |
| C.=Celtic,
used as a general term for Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton,
Cornish, &c. |
| Corn.=Cornish. |
| Dan.=Danish. |
| Du.=Dutch |
| E.=English. |
| E.E.=Early
English. |
| Europ.=European. |
| F.=French. |
| G.=German. |
| Gk.=Greek. |
| Goth.=Gothic. |
| Icel.=Icelandic. |
| Ital.=Italian. |
| L. or
Lat.=Latin. |
| Lith.
& Lithuan.=Lithuanian. |
| M.E.=Middle
English. |
| M.F.=Middle
French |
| M.H.G.=Middle
High German. |
| Norw.=Norwegian. |
| O.F.=Old
French. |
| O.H.G.=Old
High German. |
| Pers.=Persian. |
| Port.=Portuguese. |
| Scand.=Scandinavian,
used as a general term for Icelandic, Swedish, Danish,
&c. |
| Sc.=Scottish. |
| Skt.=Sanskrit. |
| Span.=Spanish. |
| Swed.=Sweish. |
| Teut.=Teutonic |
| Turk.=Turkish. |
| W.=Welsh. |
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