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old

old [ ōld ]

adjective (comparative old·er, superlative old·est)

Definition:

1. having lived long: having lived for many years in comparison with others

2. originating years ago: made, produced, or originating many years ago and still in existence

3. senior: showing physical or mental characteristics sometimes associated with long life

4. wise: showing the understanding, wisdom, or behavior that results from long experience of life

She acts much older than she is.

5. existing for specific time: having lived or existed for a particular amount of time ( usually used in combination )

The day was only a few hours old.

6. ancient: belonging to the remote past

the remains of an old civilization

7. former: belonging to an earlier period of something such as somebody's life

We drove past my old school.

8. familiar: familiar from past experience

She always makes the same old excuses.

9. existing or used over time: having existed or been used for a long time, especially if showing wear or age

Change into old clothes before gardening.

10. earlier: existing before one or all of the other stages, forms, or instances of something, especially a particular language

Old English words

11. used for emphasis: used as an intensifier ( informal )

any old reason

12. expressing familiarity: used to express affection or familiarity ( informal )

Good old Charlie!

13. U.S. annoyingly familiar: annoyingly familiar, especially as a result of repetition ( informal )

That silly joke has gotten very old.

14. geology eroded: reduced through erosion and weathering

15. geology slower moving: characterized by slower moving water and broad, flat floodplains

noun (plural olds)

Definition:

1. person of particular age: somebody of a particular age ( used in combination )

a two-year-old

2. old things: things or customs that are old

to balance the old with the new

[ Old English eald< W Germanic < Indo-European, "grow, nourish"]

old·ness noun

Word Usage


	See elder¹.

Word History


	Old is ultimately from an Indo-European word meaning "to grow, nourish," which, through Latin alere, is also the ancestor of English adolescent, adult, alimony, and alumnus. In Latin the meaning evolved into "high," as seen in the English derivatives alto, exalt, and haughty, whereas the Germanic languages preserved an old past participle meaning "grown, old," which is also the ancestor of English elder¹, eldest, and world.