old

English Online Dictionary. What means old‎? What does old mean?

English

Alternative forms

• ol', ol, ole
• olde (archaic)

Etymology

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”). Cognate with Scots auld (“old”), North Frisian ool, ual, uul (“old”), Saterland Frisian oold (“old”), West Frisian âld (“old”), Dutch oud (“old”), Low German old (“old”), German alt (“old”), Swedish äldre (“older, elder”), Icelandic eldri (“older, elder”), Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”). Related to eld.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊld/, [ˈɔʊ(ɫ)d], [ˈɒʊ(ɫ)d]
• (US) enPR: ōld, IPA^(key): /ˈoʊld/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /aʉld/, [ɒʊ(ɫ)d]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈoːɫd]
• Rhymes: -əʊld

Adjective

old (comparative older or elder, superlative oldest or eldest or (US, dialectal) oldermost)

1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
   1. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.

   2. Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.

   3. Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related to others.

2. Having been used and thus no longer new or unused.

3. Having existed or lived for the specified time.

4. (heading) Of an earlier time.
   1. Former, previous.
   2. That is no longer in existence.

   3. Obsolete; out-of-date.

   4. Familiar.

   5. (UK) Being a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school.
5. Tiresome after prolonged repetition.

6. Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.

   Synonym: antique

7. A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive, and combined with another adjective.

   any old

8. (informal, of a person) Indicating affection and familiarity.
9. Designed for a mature audience; unsuitable for children below a certain age.
10. (obsolete) Excessive, abundant.

Synonyms

• (having existed for a long period of time): ancient, long in the tooth, paleo-; see also Thesaurus:old
• (having lived for many years): aged, ageing / aging, elderly, long in the tooth, on in years; see also Thesaurus:elderly
• (having existed or lived for the specified time): aged, of age
• (former): erstwhile, ex-, former, one-time, past; see also Thesaurus:former
• (out-of-date): antiquated, obsolete (of words), outdated; see also Thesaurus:obsolete

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “having existed for a long period of time”): brand new, fresh, new, neo-, ceno-
• (antonym(s) of “having lived for many years”): young
• (antonym(s) of “former”): current, latest, new

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

old (countable and uncountable, plural olds)

1. (with the, invariable plural only) People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.

2. (slang) A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.

   Near-synonyms: geezer, oldie, oldster; see also Thesaurus:old person

3. (slang, most often plural) One's parents.

5. (Australia, uncountable) A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method.

   Antonym: new

Anagrams

• DLO, DOL, Dol, LDO, LOD, Lo'd, LoD, Lod, dol, lod

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔlˀ/, [ˈʌlˀ]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse ǫld, from Proto-Germanic *aldiz, cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃 (alds).

Noun

old c (singular definite olden, not used in plural form)

1. (archaic) period, age, generation
2. (archaic, rare) antiquity

Declension

Derived terms

References

• “Old,1” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Etymology 2

Clipping of oldtidskundskab.

Noun

old c (uninflected)

1. Classical Civilization (a course in secondary school)

   Synonym: oldtidskundskab

Derived terms

• oldlærer

References

• “old” in Den Danske Ordbog

German Low German

Alternative forms

• oold, ol, olt

Etymology

From Middle Low German ôlt. The A became an O through the effect of the velarised L in the same manner as in Dutch oud.

Cognate with English old, Dutch oud, German alt, West Frisian âld.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔːɫt/

Adjective

old (comparative öller, superlative öllst)

1. old

Declension

Descendants

• → German: oll

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *aŋa- (“to loosen, open (up), untie”) + -d (frequentative suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈold]
• Homophone: oldd
• Rhymes: -old

Verb

old

1. (transitive) to solve
2. (transitive) to untie

Conjugation

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

References

Further reading

• old in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Middle English

Alternative forms

• eeld, eelde, eld, elde, holde, oold, olde, wolde
• ald, awlde, eild (Northern)
• eald, yald, yeald (Kent)
• yolde, yhold, yolle (Southwestern)

Etymology

Inherited from Anglian Old English ald, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

Forms with /ɛː/ are either from forms such as West Saxon and Kentish Old English eald or due to analogy with the comparative eldre or superlative eldest.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔːld/
• (Northern) IPA^(key): /aːld/
• (especially Southern) IPA^(key): /ɛːld/

Adjective

old (plural and weak singular olde, comparative eldre, superlative eldest)

1. Old; long extant or existent:
   1. Elderly; advanced in life or lifecycle.
   2. Familiar, habitual; established as practice.
   3. Relating to old age or senescence.
2. From or relating to an earlier era; ancient:
   1. Old-fashioned, archaic; following previous custom.
   2. No longer extant or in use; former.
3. Aged; worn or used from age:
   1. (of food and drink) Matured, stale.
   2. (astronomy, of the moon) In the waning crescent.
4. Mature (fully developed; past its youth).
5. Old (having existed for a given time).

Usage notes

• Especially in late Middle English, the analogical comparative oldre and superlative oldest are also seen.

Descendants

• English: old (dialectal ole, ould, wold)

  Geordie English: awd, auld

• Scots: auld
• Yola: yole, yold

References

• “ōld(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

old

1. A moon in its first phase after new; a waxing crescent.

Synonyms

• olde mone

Middle Low German

Adjective

old

1. Alternative spelling of ôlt.