noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An old man. poetic
2. 2
   a stoneware drinking jug with a long neck; decorated with a caricature of Cardinal Bellarmine (17th century) wordnet
3. 3
   Any of the members of a group who have been there the longest, often implying experience. figuratively
4. 4
   a man who is very old wordnet
5. 5
   A coarse earthenware vessel for holding liquor; a bellarmine. historical

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6. 6
   A powerful wave in the vicinity of Cape Horn.

Synonyms

All synonyms

longbeardold manantiquitybellarminebellarminecodger

Example

More examples

"You could learn a lot from that greybeard."

Etymology

From grey + beard; men of advanced age would be expected to have a grey beard.

Related phrases

old man

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.