elder

Word family

el·der1 /ˈeldə $ -ər/ adjectiveadj especially British EnglishBrE

the elder of two people, especially brothers and sisters, is the one who was born first 〔两人中〕年纪较长的〔尤指哥哥或姐姐〕 OPP younger

elder brother/son/sister/daughter etc

His elder son Liam became a lawyer.

他的大儿子利亚姆当了律师。

Sarah is the elder of the two.

两人当中萨拉年纪较长。

Don’t say ‘elder than someone’. Say older than someone: She was two years older than me.

不要说 ‘elder than someone’. 而要说 older than someone: She was two years older than me. 她比我大两岁。

Examples from the Corpus

elder• John's elder brother died in a boating accident.• But his elder brother John thinks that he knew better what the score was than he ever let on.• His elder brother, Nails, still at school, played water-polo for the town and stole cars.• Bruch suggests that a significantly large proportion of anorexics are eldest or elder daughters.• And the elder Miss Snoot at her window high up in Old Odborough looks over the roofs of the town.• In contrast, Jane Alexander as the elder sister and Robert Klein as her bulky beau are hitched to plows.• Wright's elder sister is also an actor.• Polyneices, the elder son, did the same.

elder brother/son/sister/daughter etc• In character he was very different from his dead elder brother.• Also present were Bracy Clark and his elder brother, Henry.• Midge had lost an elder brother, killed by a shell on his nineteenth birthday in the Second World War.• Their elder son, Nicky, had disappeared on his motorcycle in a cloud of dust and anger.• The elder son of the Rev.• It was initially his elder brother, Sir Richard Damory, who was more prominent.• The elder brother was shot in the stomach as he knelt pleading for mercy.• On top of all this was the constant need to defend his religion against a clever elder brother who was an atheist.

Related topics: Christianity, Plants

elder2 noun [countableC]

1 be somebody’s elder formal to be older than someone else 比某人年长

be two/ten etc years somebody’s elder

Janet’s sister was eight years her elder.

珍妮特的姐姐比她大八岁。

2. somebody’s elders (and betters) OLD/NOT YOUNGpeople who are older than you and who you should respect 某人的长辈[前辈]

Examples from the Corpus

somebody’s elders (and betters)• For our purposes it may be more helpful to use the idea of desire when assessing elders.• He roused himself wearily to exchange greetings with the elders as they passed him, and went in to his foster-father.• In this respect at least, the procedures reflected those of a lineage or tribal meeting of elders and shaikhs.• Indeed, the absence of official elders was a source of wonder to visitors from systems run by a selected few.• Some, like Monta o, believe to this day that the city killed their elders.• The Oaks are the Elders of the Forest and the others are aware of it.• The weary elders of the 1980s take revenge at last upon the hapless victims of the 1960s.

3 OLD/NOT YOUNGa member of a tribe or other social group who is important and respected because they are old 长者，长辈

a meeting of the village elders

村里长辈们的集会

4. RRCsomeone who has an official position of responsibility in some Christian churches 〔基督教某些教会中的〕长老

5. elder abuse the crime of harming an old person 虐待老人(罪)

Examples from the Corpus

elder abuse• Community Care believes elder abuse is a major problem.• Intent could be a factor in defining elder abuse.• In the overall case, the four-year statute of limitations on alleged fraud, theft and financial elder abuse expires in February.• The incidence of elder abuse is hard to quantify.• Researching the prevalence of elder abuse is notoriously difficult, and information on the abuse of black elders is non-existent.• Report on local authority guidelines on elder abuse.

6. HBPa small wild tree that has white flowers and black berries 接骨木

Examples from the Corpus

elder• The ancestors rarely act on their own initiative: generally these avenging angels of justice are invoked by the local elder.• I myself have watched many elders labour over their paintings and pour spiritual potency into these creations.• Classical music elders may turn up their noses, but so far, the antics are working.• Such elders may have given positive meaning to experiences of anxiety, poverty, chronic illness, multiple losses and death.• At a very early age children learn to self-justify, because they learn it from their elders who are continuously doing it.• It is natural enough for them to want to acquire knowledge from their elders.• the tribal elders• However, as stories so often show, what elders say youth disregards.

Origin elder1

Old English ieldra, from eald “old”

elder2

1. → ELDER1

2. Old English ellærn

el·der1 adjectiveadjelder2 noun

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus