eldest

eld·est

 (ĕl′dĭst)

adj.

Greatest in age or seniority. See Usage Note at elder¹.

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[Middle English, from Old English eldesta; see al- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

eldest

(ˈɛldɪst)

adj

being the oldest, esp the oldest surviving child of the same parents

[Old English eldesta, superlative of eald old]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

eld•est

(ˈɛl dɪst)

adj. a superl. of old with elder as compar.

oldest; first-born; of greatest age.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English eldesta, (e)ald old]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

elder

– eldest – older – oldest

1. 'elder'

The elder of two people is the one who was born first.

Posy was the elder of the two.

If you have a sister or brother who was born before you, you can refer to them as your elder sister or brother.

He had none of his elder brother's charm.

2. 'eldest'

The eldest of a group of people, especially the brothers and sisters in a family, is the one who was born first.

Gladys was the eldest of four children.

Her eldest son was killed in the First War.

3. 'older' and 'oldest'

Elder and eldest are slightly formal, and many people do not use them at all. Instead of 'elder' and 'eldest' you can use older and oldest.

He's my older brother.

Six of their children were there, including the oldest, Luke.

You can use older and oldest in some ways in which you cannot use 'elder'. For example, you can use older after be, get, or grow, and in front of than.

Try it when you are a little older.

We're all getting older.

As he grew older, his fascination with bees developed into an obsession.

Harriet was ten years older than I was.

You cannot use 'elder' in any of these ways.

You can also use older and oldest to talk about things.

On older houses there may be guarantees for treatment against woodworm.

It is the oldest of London squares.

It claims to be the oldest insurance company in the world.

You cannot use 'elder' or 'eldest' to talk about things.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	eldest - the offspring who came first in the order of birth firstborn offspring, progeny, issue - the immediate descendants of a person; "she was the mother of many offspring"; "he died without issue"
Adj.	1.	eldest - first in order of birth; "the firstborn child" firstborn first - preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

eldest

adjective oldest, first, first-born, earliest born David was the eldest of three sons.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

الأبن الأكْبر، البِنْت الكُبْرىالأَكْبَر

nejstarší

ældst

ältestältester

πρεσβύτερος

de más edadel de más edadmayor

vanhin

aînéainé

najstariji

legidõsebb

elstur

il maggioremaggiore

最年長の

가장 나이 많은

oudste

eldst

najstarszy

o mais velho

самый старший

najstarší

najstarejši

äldst

แก่ที่สุด

en büyüğüyaşça en büyük

lớn nhất

最年长的

eldest

[ˈeldɪst] ADJ [child] → mayor
my eldest sister → mi hermana mayor
he's the eldest → él es el mayor
the eldest of the four → el mayor de los cuatro

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

eldest

[ˈɛldɪst]

adj → aîné(e)
my eldest sister → ma sœur aînée
the eldest child → l'aîné(e) des enfants

n
the eldest → l'aîné(e)
He's the eldest → C'est l'aîné.
their eldest (= eldest child) → leur aîné(e)e-learning [ˈiːlɜː^rnɪŋ] n → apprentissage m en ligne

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

eldest

adj attr superl of old → älteste(r, s)

n the eldest → der/die/das Älteste; (pl) → die Ältesten pl; the eldest of four children → das älteste von vier Kindern; my eldest (inf: = son) → mein Ältester; (= daughter) → meine Älteste

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

eldest

[ˈɛldɪst] adj → maggiore
my eldest brother → il maggiore dei miei fratelli
the eldest (child) → il/la maggiore (dei bambini)

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

elder¹

(ˈeldə) adjective

(often of members of a family) older; senior. He has three elder sisters; He is the elder of the two. meerder, ouer أكْبَرُ سِنّاً по-голям mais velho starší älter ældre μεγαλύτερος mayor vanem بزرگتر؛ ارشد vanhempi aîné הַמבוּגָר יוֹתֵר ज्येष्ठ stariji idősebb lebih tua eldri più vecchio/anziano*, maggiore 年上の 지위가 위인 vyresnis vecākais (par ģimenes locekli) lebih tua oudsteeldrestarszy مشر mais velho (cel) mai mare старший starší starejši stariji äldre แก่กว่า daha büyük 年齡較大的；年長的 старший بڑا lớn hơn 年龄较大的，年长的

noun

1. a person who is older. Take the advice of your elders. meerdere من يَكْبُرُك سِنّا по-стар mais velho starší (člověk) der/die Ältere ældre γεροντότερος, μεγαλύτερος mayor vanem inimene آدم سالخورده؛ سالمند vanhempi aîné/-ée זקן, מבוגר बुजुर्ग stariji idősebb ember orang lebih tua þeir sem eru eldri anziano, maggiore d'età* 年長者 어른, 연장자 vyresnysis vecākais lebih tua oudere person som er eldre starszy پیر mais velho vârstnic старший starší starejši stariji den som är äldre ผู้ที่อายุมากกว่า büyük 年齡較大者；長者 старі люди, старші عمر دراز فرد người nhiều tuổi hơn 年龄较大者，长者

2. an office-bearer in Presbyterian churches. ouderling شَيْخ الكَنيسَه старейшина presbítero starší (círk.) der Gemeindeälteste ældste; menighedsrådsmedlem αξιωματούχος της πρεσβυτεριανής εκκλησίας presbítero presbüter کشیش ممتاز seurakunnan vanhin membre du conseil (d'une église presbytérienne) בַּעַל תָּפקִיד בַּכּנֶסִייָה ज्येष्ठ, अग्रज starješina presbiter pinitua fulltrúi í safnaðarráði öldungakirkjunnar pastore/dignitario di una chiesa presbiteriana* 長老 (프로테스탄트나 모르몬교의) 장로 presbiteris, bažnyčios seniūnas baznīcas vecākais pegawai gereja ouderlingmenighetsforstanderstarszy ملا presbítero membru al consiliului (în biserica prez­bi­te­riană) церковный староста starší član sveta (prezbiterijanske cerkve) starešina u prezbiterijanskim crkvama församlingsäldste พระอาวุโสในศาสนาคริสต์บางนิกาย kilise mütevelli üyesi (基督教長老會的)長老 пресвітер عیسائی کلیساؤں کا عہدہ دار Trưởng lão （教会的）长老

ˈelderly adjective

(rather) old. an elderly lady. bejaarde, ouerige كَهْل، مُسِن، مُتَقَدِّم في السِّن възрастен idoso postarší älter ældre ηλικιωμένος mayor, anciano eakas میانسال؛ سالمند vanhahko assez âgé קשיש बुजुर्ग सा stariji idős agak tua roskinn, yfir miðjum aldri anziano 年輩の 나이가 많은 senyvas, senyvo amžiaus padzīvojis; gados wanita tua bejaardeldrestarszy پوخ سړى تيا ښځه idoso destul de bătrân пожилой postarší precej star star äldre, litet till åren kommen แก่กว่า yaşlıca, yaşını başını almış 上了年紀的 похилого, поважного віку بزرگ شخص cao tuổi 上了年纪的

ˈeldest adjective

oldest. She is the eldest of the three children. oudste الأبن الأكْبر، البِنْت الكُبْرى най-стар o mais velho nejstarší ältest ældst μεγαλύτερος mayor vanim بزرگترین؛ سالمندترین vanhin aînéבכור, בכורה वय में सबसे बडा़ najstariji legidősebb tertua elstur il più vecchio, il maggiore 最年長の 가장 나이 많은 vyriausias visvecākais (par ģimenes locekli) paling tua oudsteeldstnajstarszy تر ټولو مشر، تر ټولو زوړ، تر ټولو پوخ o mais velho cel mai mare самый старший najstarší najstarejši najstariji äldst อายุมากที่สุด en büyüğü 最年長的 самий старший پہلوٹی کا بچہ lớn tuổi nhất 最年长的

the elderly

people who are (rather) old. It is important for the elderly to take some exercise. bejaarde الكُهول възрастните idosos starší generace ältere Leute de ældre άτομα της τρίτης ηλικίας los ancianos elatanud inimesed افراد سالخورده؛ پیر vanhukset les gens d'un certain âge קְשִישִים वयोवृद्व, प्रौढ़ stariji időskorúak orang tua aldraðir gli anziani 老人 연장자 seni žmonės padzīvojuši/[]veci cilvēki orang tua-tua bejaarden de eldre, eldre mennesker starsi (ludzie) پوخ idosos oamenii în vârstă престарелые staršia generácia starejši ljudje stariji ljudi gamla människor ผู้คนที่อายุมาก ๆ yaşlılar 上了年紀的人 старі люди بزرگ những người cao tuổi 上了年纪的人

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

eldest

→ الأَكْبَر nejstarší ældst ältester πρεσβύτερος de más edad, el de más edad vanhin aîné najstariji il maggiore 最年長の 가장 나이 많은 oudste eldst najstarszy o mais velho самый старший äldst แก่ที่สุด yaşça en büyük lớn nhất 最年长的

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

eldest

a. sup. el mayor, la mayor.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012