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Old

//aːd// adj, name, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
"an old abandoned building"
2
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.; Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
"a wrinkled old man"
3
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.; Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.
"an old loaf of bread"
4
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.; Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related to others.
"the ginkgo is one of the oldest living trees"
5
Having been used and thus no longer new or unused.
"I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with."

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6
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 child."
7
Of an earlier time.; Former, previous.
"My new car is not as good as my old one. a school reunion for Old Etonians"
8
Of an earlier time.; That is no longer in existence.
"The footpath follows the route of an old railway line."
9
Of an earlier time.; Obsolete; out-of-date.
"That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way."
10
Of an earlier time.; Familiar.
"When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho."
11
Of an earlier time.; Being a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school. UK
12
Tiresome after prolonged repetition.
"Rik: But even great shtick can get old real fast: the dreaded Saturday Night Live syndrome. Jim: Randomness can help - many Living Books have characters that do different things each time you click on them."
13
Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
14
A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive, and combined with another adjective.
"We're having a good old time."
15
Indicating affection and familiarity. informal
"Finally, when they were all done slobbering around, old Sally introduced us."
16
Designed for a mature audience; unsuitable for children below a certain age.
"Monsieur's story is too old for our Juvenile Magazine."
17
Excessive, abundant. obsolete
"URSULA: Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home: it is proved, my Lady Hero hath been falsely accused, the prince and Claudio mightily abused;"

Adjective

1
just preceding something else in time or order wordnet
2
of a very early stage in development wordnet
3
skilled through long experience wordnet
4
(used for emphasis) very familiar wordnet
5
excellent wordnet

Show 3 more definitions

6
of long duration; not new wordnet
7
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age wordnet
8
belonging to some prior time wordnet

Proper Noun

1
Initialism of Oxford Latin Dictionary. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
2
A surname. countable, uncountable
3
A village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire district, Northamptonshire, England, previously in Daventry district (OS grid ref SP7873). countable, uncountable

Noun

1
People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group. countable, invariable, plural, plural-only, uncountable
"A civilised society should always look after the old in the community."
2
Abbreviation of online dating. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable
3
past times wordnet
4
A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager. countable, slang, uncountable
"Near-synonyms: geezer, oldie, oldster; see also Thesaurus:old person"
5
Abbreviation of obsessive love disorder abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable

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6
One's parents. countable, slang, uncountable
"I had to sneak out to meet my girlfriend and tell the olds I was going to the library."
7
A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method. Australia, uncountable
"We crossed to the pub on the corner of Carlisle Street and I ordered two schooners of old for him and one of light for me."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aald, auld (“old”), Yola yola, yolaw, yold, yole (“old”), North Frisian ool, ual, uuil, uul, üülj (“old”), Saterland Frisian oold (“old”), West Frisian âld (“old”), Alemannic German altu, oalt, oalts, olt, àltà (“old”), Bavarian oid (“old”), Central Franconian alt, aod, auw, oot (“old”), Cimbrian, German alt (“old”), Dutch oud, oudt (“old”), German Low German old, oolt (“old”), Luxembourgish al (“old”), Mòcheno òlt (“old”), Vilamovian aołd (“old”), Yiddish אַלט (alt, “old”), Danish ældre (“elderly”), Faroese eldri (“elder, older”), Icelandic aldinn (“old”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk eldre (“elderly”), Swedish äldre (“elderly”), Crimean Gothic alt (“old”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis, “old”), Latin altus (“high, tall, grown big, lofty”). Related to eld.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

* In Northamptonshire, recorded as Walda in 1086 (DB), becoming Wolde in the 14th century, and later Old. From Old English or Old Saxon wald.

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Old

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