• Old

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /əʊld/, /ɔʊld/
    • US enPR: ōld, IPA: /oÊŠld/
      • also IPA: /lÌ©d/
    • Rhymes: -əʊld

    Origin

    From Middle English old, ald, from Old English ald, eald ("old, aged, ancient, antique, primeval"), from Proto-Germanic *aldaz ("grown-up"), originally a participle form from Proto-Indo-European *altós ("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.

    Full definition of old

    Adjective

    old

    1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
      an old abandoned building;   an old friend
      • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher Chapter 1, They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.
      1. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
        a wrinkled old man
      2. Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.
        an old loaf of bread
    2. Of an item that has been used and so is not new (unused).
      I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with.
    3. Having existed or lived for the specified time.
      How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old.
      My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old.
    4. Of an earlier time.
      1. Former, previous.
        My new car is not as good as my old one.
        a school reunion for Old Etonians
        • 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 8, The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
        • 1994, Michael Grumley, Life DrawingBut over my old life, a new life had formed.
      2. That is no longer in existence.
        The footpath follows the route of an old railway line.
      3. Obsolete; out-of-date.
        That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way.
      4. Familiar.
        When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho.
      5. Tiresome.
        Your constant pestering is getting old.
      6. Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
      7. A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)
        We're having a good old time.
        My next car will be a big old SUV.
        My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas.
      8. (obsolete) Excessive, abundant.

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from old

    Noun

    old

    (countable and uncountable; plural olds)
    usually used as plural
    1. People who are old; old beings; the older generation; usually used with the.A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.

    Anagrams

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