What is the definition of the word old

Adjective



He’s an old man now.



We rented an old black-and-white movie.



There’s an old saying that good fences make good neighbors.



a new approach to an old problem



She wore a T-shirt and an old pair of jeans.



I wish you would stop wearing that dirty old hat!



The hotel was old and dingy.



the oldest known civilization in the region



The house we live in is 50 years old.



We went back to visit our old neighborhood.

Noun



Young and old alike will enjoy the movie.

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Recent Examples on the Web



The removal came weeks after the Jan. 6 shooting of a teacher by a 6-year-old student during class.


Louis Casiano, Fox News, 26 Jan. 2023





Granted, the Bucks have re-integrated their purple jerseys into uniform designs this year, so what’s old is new again.


Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023





For instance, Today reports that most eggs sold in supermarkets are already up to 30 days old.


Erin Cavoto, Country Living, 25 Jan. 2023





Senior Trooper Justin O’Neal said Tatum was driving a Toyota Avalon when she was struck by a Hyundai Santa Fe driven by 56-year-old Taran Seymour.


Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 25 Jan. 2023





The 86-year-old pontiff was asked to assess his health.


Nicole Winfield, Baltimore Sun, 25 Jan. 2023





Julia, a 4-year-old Muppet with autism, came in 2017 and the show has since offered help for children whose parents are dealing with addiction and recovery, and children suffering as a result of the Syrian civil war.


Mark Kennedy, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2023





The cows uncover and kick up fresh antlers from this year, and chalky ones that are a year or two old.


Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 24 Jan. 2023





The Monterey Park gunman was unusually old among mass killers.


Mark Berman, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023




During much of the session, Walton reminisced wistfully, as any bar stool companion might, talking about decades-old pie-eating contests and his beloved English setter Ol’ Roy, who gave his name to the popular dog-food brand.


Steven Zeitchik, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022





The novel is told from the viewpoint of Davy Ross, a lonely 13-year old who is forced to move in with his estranged mother after his grandmother dies.


USA Today, 20 June 2021





There’s a new old on the market: The early aughts are now vintage.


New York Times, 22 Apr. 2021





Andrea Vallone, a 27-year old who works at a major tech company, started banking on Hinge after hearing about the idea through Kawahata.


Kaya Yurieff And Sara Ashley O’brien, CNN, 2 Nov. 2020





Tiz the Law, a majestic-looking colt with a striking white blaze covering most of his face, has established himself as the dominant 3-year old of this year and the heavy favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.


Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2020





Joi also testified on behalf of a change in state law that eliminated work permits for 16- and 17-year-olds.


Gina Barton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 22 May 2020





In 2018, just 25.6% of 16-year-olds were licensed to drive, down from 46.2% in 1983, according to a study by Michael Sivak, managing director of Sivak Applied Research.


Keith Naughton, Bloomberg.com, 10 May 2020





This showed that of the 14-18-year-olds who could read fluently, nearly 30% could not apply these reading skills to understand how to use an Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) based on written instructions on the packet.


Azeez Gupta, Quartz India, 3 Feb. 2020



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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘old.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

I called him an old cretin, if you are SO interested, because he was tough, very old school and brooked no nonsense-so many would see him as an ‘old cretin’type. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The bad news is that Linda threw out in a clean up, all my old underwear/panties so I can’t go to the ‘old and nasty’ panties if I am avoiding doing the laundry. ❋ Elizabeth McClung (2008)

She makes her ‘old man’ 12-year-old Bruin look small! ❋ Field Notes (2008)

From the bad old days when single women were stigmatized as ‘old maids’ and every little girl was warned that she might grow up to be one so make the boys like you or else! ❋ Unknown (2008)

The candidate, no slouch in the self-deprecation business, refers to himself as »old as dirt,» although he travels with his 96-year-old mother as a genetic ambassador. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Just Tim Masters ‘old sketches and Masters’ attorney says police and prosecutors used these old sketches to paint their own picture of a killer. ❋ Unknown (2008)

The old GOP propagandists ‘old tricks no longer work in cyberspace. ❋ Unknown (2007)

I was told that ‘old men’ the local words for particularly large cactus must be left in place or if moved great care must be taken to ensure the cactus is planted with the same side facing the sun or the ‘old man’ will die. ❋ Glyn Davies (2007)

In our contemporary context it has shown itself in the scoffing at the ‘old fashion’ ideas of Ron Paul and the contempt of anyone who would be silly enough to believe in the old-wisdoms of the classical economists. ❋ Unknown (2007)

As Bear quoted, old _old_ joke, Break’s over, folks. ❋ Jhetley (2007)

Unless by ‘old wardrobe’ we are not referring to my literally old clothes — the ancient Dior, the faded von Furstenberg — but to my new old wardrobe. ❋ Unknown (2007)

I also like 老不死, a term of abuse for an old person an ‘old thing that refuses to die’. ❋ Unknown (2005)

Friday night we did the same old, same old… went down to the local and watched the footy (YAY GO POWER!!!) ❋ Anasthesia (2004)

God, i miss the old team, don’t you harry??? heh, too bad the ‘old team ‘wont be back. speaking of the ‘old team’ where is Oliver??? ❋ Katebell (2003)

Now, that debris rubbing against these old statutes, these centuries ‘old buildings and arches of the bridge, this in a very small way reflective of what has happened in a very large way all around. ❋ Unknown (2002)

I spotted the moving van in front of the Ruskins ‘old house, turned and – first pow – there she was, my Elizabeth, walking with that titanium spine, so poised, even then, even as a seven year-old girl with Mary Janes and a friendship bracelet and too many freckles. ❋ Coben, Harlan, 1962- (2001)

I spotted the moving van in front of the Ruskins ‘old house, turned and — first pow — there she was, my Elizabeth, walking with that titanium spine, so poised, even then, even as a seven year-old girl with Mary Janes and a friendship bracelet and too many freckles. ❋ Coben, Harlan, 1962- (2001)

[candles] cost $.25 a piece, and you are [60] years old making the total cost of candles $15. [the cake] costs $4. ❋ Wayne Static (2005)

[Matrix Revolutions] was [an old] [movie]. ❋ Anonymous (2003)

Anyway im even [too old] to command [pizzas] [by now]. ❋ Flaz (2006)

[The past] he kept bringing up to [my face] is [gotten] real old right about now! ❋ T. Brown (2007)

«A person can die at age 100 and not be considered old it seems.»
-me
«5.25» [disks]? Those are old man, [obsolete]. [Why’re] you still using that?» ❋ Dave (2004)

«[Woah], look at that guy over there.»
«[Stuart]?»
«Yeah, he is so old
«No [wonder] all the girls like him.» ❋ Jgap (2010)

you’re [too old] to be breastfed ❋ Pineapple Bacon (2005)

«your [lebron] [shoes] are old«. ❋ DeLAnte (2006)

[What a drag] it is [getting old]! ❋ Alvit (2009)

[ugh], she sounds like [an old]. {[sad face]} ❋ Mayavada (2011)

  • Defenition of the word old

    • Having lived or existed for a relatively long period of time.
    • (For a person or an animal) Having lived for a relatively long period of time.
    • (For an object or a concept) Having existed for a relatively long period of time.
    • A person that has been living for a relatively long period of time.
    • An object or concept existing for a relatively long period of time.
    • used informally especially for emphasis; «a real honest-to-god live cowboy»; «had us a high old time»; «went upriver to look at a sure-enough fish wheel»
    • (linguistics) of a very early stage in development; «Old English is also called Anglo Saxon»; «Old High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th century»
    • (used for emphasis) very familiar; «good old boy»; «same old story»
    • of long duration; not new; «old tradition»; «old house»; «old wine»; «old country»; «old friendships»; «old money»
    • (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age; especially not young; «an old man’s eagle mind»- William Butler Yeats; «his mother is very old»; «a ripe old age»; «how old are you?»; often used as a combining form to indicate an age as specified as in «a week-old infant»
    • of an earlier time; «his old classmates»
    • past times (especially in the phrase «in days of old»)
    • old in experience; «an old offender»; «the older soldiers»
    • lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new; «moth-eaten theories about race»
    • just preceding something else in time or order; «the previous owner»; «my old house was larger»
    • past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old»)
    • of a very early stage in development; «Old English is also called Anglo Saxon»; «Old High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th century»
    • (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age; especially not young; often used as a combining form to indicate an age as specified as in `a week-old baby»; «an old man»s eagle mind»—William Butler Yeat
    • past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old’)
    • just preceding something else in time or order
    • of a very early stage in development
    • skilled through long experience
    • (used for emphasis) very familiar
    • (used informally especially for emphasis)
    • of long duration; not new
    • (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
    • belonging to some prior time

Synonyms for the word old

    • aged
    • ageing
    • aging
    • ancient
    • antiquated
    • childhood
    • deep-rooted
    • elderly
    • erstwhile
    • ex-
    • former
    • from the past
    • from way back
    • getting on
    • honest-to-god
    • honest-to-goodness
    • last
    • long forgotten
    • long-standing
    • mature
    • moth-eaten
    • not getting any younger
    • obsolete
    • of age
    • Old
    • older
    • one-time
    • other
    • past
    • previous
    • stale
    • sure-enough

Similar words in the old

    • age-old
    • aged
    • aged(a)
    • ageing
    • aging
    • ancient
    • anile
    • antediluvian
    • antiquated
    • antique
    • archaic
    • auld
    • centenarian
    • cold
    • darkened
    • doddering
    • doddery
    • early
    • elderly
    • emeritus
    • experienced
    • familiar
    • gaga
    • genuine
    • gray
    • gray-haired
    • gray-headed
    • grey
    • grey-haired
    • grey-headed
    • grizzly
    • hand-down
    • hand-me-down
    • hoar
    • hoary
    • immemorial
    • immemorial(ip)
    • long-ago
    • longtime
    • longtime(a)
    • mature
    • middle-aged
    • nonagenarian
    • noncurrent
    • nonmodern
    • octogenarian
    • of age
    • of age(p)
    • old
    • olden
    • oldenburg
    • oldenburg’s
    • oldened
    • oldening
    • oldens
    • older
    • oldest
    • oldfield
    • oldfield’s
    • oldie
    • oldie’s
    • oldies
    • oldish
    • oldsmobile
    • oldsmobile’s
    • olduvai
    • olduvai’s
    • over-the-hill
    • overage
    • overaged
    • past
    • patched
    • preceding
    • preceding(a)
    • retired
    • rusty
    • secondhand
    • senescent
    • senile
    • senior
    • sexagenarian
    • stale
    • sunset
    • superannuated
    • unoriginal
    • used
    • venerable
    • white-haired
    • worn
    • yellow
    • yellowed

Hypernyms for the word old

    • past
    • past times
    • yesteryear
    • yore

Antonyms for the word old

    • current
    • fresh
    • immature
    • latest
    • new
    • young

See other words

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A mass of dust, world’s momentary slave, Is man, in state of our old Adam made, Soon born to die, soon flourishing to fade.

Barnabe Barnes

section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD OLD

Old English eald; related to Old Saxon ald, Old High German, German alt, Latin altus high.

info

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

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section

PRONUNCIATION OF OLD

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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF OLD

Old can act as a noun and an adjective.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES OLD MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Old

Old or OLD may refer to: ▪ Old age or, by extension, a description or nickname for someone or something that has endured and become comfortable or widely familiar.


Definition of old in the English dictionary

The first definition of old in the dictionary is having lived or existed for a relatively long time. Other definition of old is of or relating to advanced years or a long life. Old is also decrepit or senile.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH OLD

Synonyms and antonyms of old in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS OF «OLD»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «old» and belong to the same grammatical category.

Translation of «old» into 25 languages

online translator

TRANSLATION OF OLD

Find out the translation of old to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of old from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «old» in English.

Translator English — Chinese


老的

1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English — Spanish


viejo

570 millions of speakers

English


old

510 millions of speakers

Translator English — Hindi


पुराने

380 millions of speakers

Translator English — Arabic


عَجُوزٌ

280 millions of speakers

Translator English — Russian


старый

278 millions of speakers

Translator English — Portuguese


velho

270 millions of speakers

Translator English — Bengali


পুরাতন

260 millions of speakers

Translator English — French


vieux

220 millions of speakers

Translator English — Malay


tua

190 millions of speakers

Translator English — German


alt

180 millions of speakers

Translator English — Japanese


年取った

130 millions of speakers

Translator English — Korean


나이든

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Javanese


Lawas

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Vietnamese


già

80 millions of speakers

Translator English — Tamil


பழைய

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Marathi


जुन्या

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Turkish


eski

70 millions of speakers

Translator English — Italian


vecchio

65 millions of speakers

Translator English — Polish


stary

50 millions of speakers

Translator English — Ukrainian


старий

40 millions of speakers

Translator English — Romanian


bătrân

30 millions of speakers

Translator English — Greek


παλιός

15 millions of speakers

Translator English — Afrikaans


ou

14 millions of speakers

Translator English — Swedish


gammal

10 millions of speakers

Translator English — Norwegian


gammel

5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of old

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «OLD»

The term «old» is very widely used and occupies the 623 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Trends

FREQUENCY

Very widely used

The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «old» in the different countries.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of old

List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «old».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «OLD» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «old» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «old» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about old

10 QUOTES WITH «OLD»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word old.

Land began to be seen as something to be owned privately and exploited for private interests, and never was entirely reconciled with the old ideas that land should be utilized in common for the good of all.

A senator will come off Capitol Hill and they’ll be barred from two years from lobbying in the Senate. So they’ll pick the phone up and they’ll call their buddy, the senator, their old buddies, and they’ll say, ‘Listen, I’m here at this law firm now. I can’t lobby you, but my new partner, Jack, can lobby you.’

Buy old masters. They fetch a better price than old mistresses.

I think it’s your own choice if you turn from an angry young man to a bitter, old bastard.

It was from an old friend who thought he was dying. Anyway, he said, ‘Life and death issues don’t come along that often, thank God, so don’t treat everything like it’s life or death. Go easier.’

My mum’s family would all get together, with guitars, harmonica, mandolins and upright bass and play old blues and folk songs. That was normal to me.

It is true I gained muscular vigour, but with it a prodigious appetite, which I was compelled to indulge, and consequently increased in weight, until my kind old friend advised me to forsake the exercise.

A mass of dust, world’s momentary slave, Is man, in state of our old Adam made, Soon born to die, soon flourishing to fade.

In the old fairy tales, often a ‘moral’ was tacked on at the end of the story — say, if a book was going to be marketed to young readers. And the morals don’t really suit the stories at all, which makes them super weird — part of why I love the tradition so much. I do play with this, though I am more concerned with ethics than morals.

Old habits are strong and jealous.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «OLD»

Discover the use of old in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to old and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

In this tale, first published serially in 1841 and 1842, Dickens follows Nell Trent, an angelic and unfailingly virtuous girl of «nearly fourteen» and her grandfather as they navigate a world populated by villains, criminals and ne’er-do …

All the creatures of the earth debate which qualities God possesses, but Old Turtle quiets them all when he says that God is all those things and more, in a deeply satisfying fable about ecology, peace, and the interconnectedness of all …

3

The Old Man and the Sea

The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction.

4

Up in the Old Hotel, and Other Stories

A collection of literary portraits looks at waterfront workers, people on the Bowery, Mohawk Indians working on high structural steel, gypsies, itinerant preachers, and others

5

A Survey of the Old Testament

This college level textbook surveys the Old Testament by focusing its primary attention on the purpose and message of each book.

Andrew E. Hill, John H. Walton, 2010

6

Old English Grammar & Reader

This book makes learning Old English easy.

7

Old Books and New Histories: An Orientation to Studies in …

Howsam’s analysis maps studies of book and print culture onto the disciplinary structure of the North American and European academic world. Old Books and New Histories is also an engaged statement of the historical perspective of the book.

8

The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes

A study of the Basement tapes, recordings made by Bob Dylan and the Band in Woodstock, New York, in 1967, analyzes this secret music never intended for release in terms of its place in contemporary music and in Dylan’s career.

Greil Marcus, Bob Dylan, 2001

9

A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: 2nd Edition

This book has become a standard text in seminary and university classrooms. The purpose of this second edition is to help readers come to a critically informed understanding of the Old Testament as the church’s scripture.

Bruce C. Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim, 2011

10

A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic

This volume, reprinted from a rare edition, will be indispensable in the study of the prose and poetry of Old Icelandic literature, which is regarded by many scholars as unrivaled among the literatures of medieval Europe.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «OLD»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term old is used in the context of the following news items.

Mother charged after six-week-old baby found dead, allegedly with …

A mother charged with murder after her six-week-old baby was found … The 26-year-old woman, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, had … «The Guardian, Jul 15»

I feel closer to Dad when I wear his old clothes

One day in 1963, when I was a few months old, my mum took me out in my pram, leaving Russell in bed with a sore throat. When we returned … «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Wife yelled ‘She’s only 18 years-old!’ before driving at cheating …

An angry wife drove her car at her teacher husband after discovering his affair with an 18-year-old former pupil. Barnado’s charity worker Maria … «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»

‘Don’t do that!’ 7-year-old confronts armed intruders

Police are looking for two men they say broke into a Vancouver home, pointed a gun at a seven-year old girl, and injured her grandfather … «CTV News, Jul 15»

Praise For Prasad, the 72 Year-Old Writer of ‘Baahubali’ and …

While the hugely successful new Indian films Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali: The Beginning battle each other for box office supremacy, one … «Forbes, Jul 15»

Reports: 8-year-old boy struck and killed by vehicle

An 8-year-old boy died after being hit by a vehicle in New Caney on Friday, according to reports. The victim, whose identity has not been … «Chron.com, Jul 15»

Yes, You Can Use Cortana in Windows 10 With Any Old Microphone

One of the coolest new Windows 10 features is talking to your computer. For many people, it’ll be the first time they’ve had a voice-activated … «Gizmodo, Jul 15»

Police searching for missing 4-year-old boy with autism in Sheffield …

SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio – A 4-year-old boy with autism named Sidney Heidrick is missing from the 4800 block of Lake Road in Sheffield Lake, … «fox8.com, Jul 15»

Apple iOS 8.4 Hit By A New Old Problem

After promising to fix the functionality stripped from iOS 8.4 in iOS 9, Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch software has now been hit by an old … «Forbes, Jul 15»

Oklahoma Stabbings: 13-Year-Old Girl Identified Her Brothers as the …

Robert Bever’s 13-year-old sister identified her two older brothers as her family’s attackers before she was rushed to the hospital to undergo … «People Magazine, Jul 15»

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Old [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/old>. Apr 2023 ».

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Discover all that is hidden in the words on educalingo

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • ol’, ol, ole
  • olde (archaic)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English olde, ald, 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).

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.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈəʊld/, [ˈɔʊ(ɫ)d], [ˈɒʊ(ɫ)d]
  • (US) enPR: ōld, IPA(key): /ˈoʊld/
  • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /aʉld/, [ɒʊ(ɫ)d]
  • Rhymes: -əʊld

Adjective[edit]

old (comparative older or elder, superlative (US, dialectal) oldermost or oldest or eldest)

  1. Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.

    an old abandoned building

    an old friend

    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., [], →OCLC:

      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. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.

    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 of, or more than, its shelf life.

      an old loaf of bread

    3. Of a species or language, belonging to a lineage that is distantly related others

      the ginkgo is one of the oldest living trees

      Basque is the oldest language in Europe

  2. Having been used and thus no longer new or 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 child.

    My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old.

  4. (heading) Of an earlier time.
    1. Former, previous.

      My new car is not as good as my old one.  a school reunion for Old Etonians

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        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 Drawing
        But 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.
      • 1991, Stephen Fry, chapter III, in The Liar, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 26:

        Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here’s a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

      When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho.

    5. (UK) Being a graduate or alumnus of a school, especially a public school.
  5. Tiresome after prolonged repetition.
    • 1995, MacUser, volume 11, MacUser Publications, page 147:

      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.

    • 2000, Charles A. Siringo, A Texas Cowboy: or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony, Penguin, →ISBN, page 100:

      John and I built a small stone house on the head of “Bonetta” Canyon and had a hog killing time all by ourselves. Hunting was our delight at first, until it became old.

    • 2008, Homer L. Hall, Logan H. Aimone, High School Journalism, The Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 171:

      The songs start to get old real fast, and it’s easy to get bored after the third song.

    • 2012, Blossom, From Under a Bridge Ii, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 40:

      It was the same old thing every week, working and drinking, working and drinking. It became old and I got really sick of it.

    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, and combined with another adjective.

    My next car will be a big old SUV.

    My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas.

    any old
  8. (informal, of a person) Indicating affection.
  9. (obsolete) Excessive, abundant.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

      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;

Synonyms[edit]

  • (having existed for a long period of time): ancient, long in the tooth, paleo-; see also Thesaurus:old
  • (having lived for many years): aged, ageing / aging, elderly, long in the tooth, on in years; see also Thesaurus:elderly
  • (having existed or lived for the specified time): aged, of age
  • (former): erstwhile, ex-, former, one-time, past; see also Thesaurus:former
  • (out-of-date): antiquated, obsolete (of words), outdated; see also Thesaurus:obsolete

Antonyms[edit]

  • (having existed for a long period of time): brand new, fresh, new, neo-, ceno-
  • (having lived for many years): young
  • (former): current, latest, new

Derived terms[edit]

  • age-old
  • an old dog for a hard road
  • any old
  • any old how
  • any old kind of way
  • any old nook or cranny
  • any old thing
  • argue like an old married couple
  • back to the old drawing board
  • bad old days
  • bicker like an old married couple
  • big old
  • chip of the old block
  • chip off the old block
  • come the old acid
  • come the old soldier
  • come the old soldier
  • comfortable as an old shoe
  • day-old
  • dirty old man
  • every old nook and cranny
  • everything old is new again
  • fight like an old married couple
  • for old sake’s sake
  • for old time’s sake
  • for old times’ sake
  • for old times’ sakes
  • gay old time
  • give someone the old heave-ho
  • good old
  • good old boy
  • good old boy network
  • good old days
  • grand old man
  • high old time
  • how old are you
  • I am … year(s) old
  • I am twenty years old
  • I’m … year(s) old
  • I’m twenty years old
  • like old boots
  • lil old
  • li’l old
  • li’l’ old
  • little old
  • little old me
  • make old bones
  • money for old rope
  • new wine in an old bottle
  • new wine in an old wineskin
  • of old
  • ol’
  • Old Aberdeen
  • old age
  • old age pension
  • old age pensioner
  • Old Akkadian
  • old ale
  • Old Alresford
  • Old Armenian
  • old army game
  • old as the hills, older than the hills
  • old as the Pyramids
  • old as time
  • Old Assyrian
  • Old Babylonian
  • old bag
  • old ball
  • old banger
  • Old Basford
  • Old Basing
  • old bean
  • Old Blighty
  • Old Bolingbroke
  • old boy
  • old boy network
  • old boyism
  • old boys’ club
  • Old Bulgarian
  • old cat
  • Old Catton
  • old chap
  • old chestnut
  • Old Church Slavic
  • Old Church Slavonic
  • Old Cleeve
  • old clothesman
  • old cocoyam
  • old codger
  • old college try
  • Old Coulsdon
  • old country
  • Old Cumnock
  • Old Czech
  • old days
  • old dear
  • Old Denaby
  • Old Dutch
  • old Earth creationism
  • old earth creationism
  • Old Egyptian
  • Old English
  • old English carrier
  • old English Carrier
  • old enough to vote
  • old fart
  • old fartism
  • old fashioned
  • old flame
  • Old Flemish
  • old fogey
  • old fogy
  • old folks’ home
  • Old Ford
  • old franc
  • Old Franconian
  • Old Frankish
  • Old French
  • old friend
  • Old Frisian
  • old fruit
  • old gentleman
  • old girl
  • Old Glory
  • old gold
  • old gown
  • old growth
  • old guard
  • old habits die hard
  • old hag syndrome
  • old hand
  • Old Harbour
  • old hat
  • old head on young shoulders
  • Old High German
  • Old Hill
  • old horse
  • Old Icelandic
  • old in the tooth
  • Old Indic
  • Old Indo-Aryan
  • Old Ingarsby
  • Old Ionic
  • Old Iranian
  • Old Irish
  • Old Kilpatrick
  • old lace
  • old lady
  • Old Latin
  • Old Leake
  • Old Low Franconian
  • Old Low Frankish
  • Old Low German
  • Old Lyme
  • old maid
  • old man
  • old man of the woods
  • old man’s beard
  • old man’s drip
  • old man’s friend
  • old man’s pepper
  • old master
  • old mate
  • old media
  • Old Milverton
  • old money
  • old moon
  • old news
  • Old Nick
  • Old Norse
  • Old North French
  • Old Norwegian
  • Old Oak Common
  • old penny
  • old people
  • old people’s home
  • Old Persian
  • Old Provençal
  • Old Prussian
  • Old Radnor
  • old ral
  • Old Ravensworth
  • old regime
  • old rose
  • Old Russian
  • old salt
  • Old Sarum
  • old saw
  • Old Saxon
  • Old Saybrook
  • Old Scandinavian
  • old school
  • old shoe
  • Old Shoreham
  • old sight
  • old sins cast long shadows
  • old sins have long shadows
  • old skool
  • Old Slavic
  • Old Slavonic
  • old sod
  • old soldier
  • old song
  • old soul
  • old sport
  • old squaw
  • old stager
  • old stick
  • old sweat
  • Old Testament
  • old time
  • old time used to be
  • old timer
  • old timers’ disease
  • old timer’s disease
  • old timey
  • old top
  • old town, Old Town
  • Old Welsh
  • old wife
  • Old Windsor
  • old wine in a new bottle
  • old wine in new bottles
  • old wives’ tale
  • Old Wolverton
  • old woman
  • old woman’s tooth
  • Old Woodhall
  • Old World
  • old-age
  • old-age pensioner
  • old-boy network
  • old-boyism
  • old-clothesman
  • old-earth creationism
  • old-fangled
  • old-farrant
  • old-fashioned
  • old-fashioned look
  • old-fashionedly
  • old-fashionedness
  • old-growth
  • old-growth forest
  • old-hat
  • old-line
  • old-maidhood
  • old-maidish
  • old-maidism
  • old-man
  • old-oil
  • old-old
  • old-school
  • old-shoe
  • old-sweat
  • old-time
  • old-time country
  • old-timer
  • old-timers’ disease
  • old-timer’s disease
  • old-timey
  • old-timy
  • old-womanish
  • old-womanishly
  • old-world
  • olden
  • oldhood
  • oldies
  • oldly
  • oldness
  • olds
  • ole
  • one-year-old
  • over-old
  • pay off old scores
  • plain old
  • plain old data
  • plain old telephone service
  • poor old
  • rake over old coals
  • ripe old age
  • same old
  • same old same old
  • same old same-old
  • same old story
  • same old-same old
  • same-old same-old
  • some old
  • that old dog won’t hunt
  • the old woman is plucking her goose
  • there’s life in the old dog yet
  • there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle
  • there’s no fool like an old fool
  • thousand-year-old egg
  • today years old
  • tough as old boots
  • tune the old cow died of
  • up to one’s old tricks
  • what’s old is new again
  • world-old
  • year-old
  • you are never too old to learn
  • you can’t catch old birds with chaff
  • you can’t put an old head on young shoulders
  • you can’t teach an old dog new tricks
  • you’re never too old to learn

Translations[edit]

of an object, concept, etc: having existed for a relatively long period of time

  • Abkhaz: ажә (aẑʷ)
  • Adyghe: жъы (ẑə)
  • Afrikaans: ou (af)
  • Ahom: 𑜀𑜧 (kaw)
  • Albanian: vjetër (sq)
  • American Sign Language: S@Chin S@FromChin
  • Amharic: አሮጌ (ʾäroge)
  • Andi: вохор (voxor)
  • Arabic: قَدِيم (ar) (qadīm)
    Hijazi Arabic: قديم(gadīm)
    Moroccan Arabic: قديم(qdīm)
    South Levantine Arabic: قديم(ʾadīm)
  • Aragonese: biello, viello (an) m
  • Armenian: հին (hy) (hin), տարեց (hy) (tarecʿ)
  • Aromanian: veclju
  • Assamese: পুৰণা (purona)
  • Asturian: vieyu (ast), antiguu
  • Avar: хераб (xerab)
  • Azerbaijani: əski (az), köhnə (az)
  • Bashkir: иҫке (iθke)
  • Basque: zahar
  • Belarusian: стары́ (starý)
  • Bengali: পুরোনো (bn) (purōnō)
  • Bikol Central: daan (bcl)
  • Breton: hen (br), kozh (br)
  • Brunei Malay: lama
  • Bulgarian: стар (bg) (star)
  • Burmese: ဟောင်း (my) (haung:)
  • Catalan: vell (ca), antic (ca)
  • Chechen: къена (qʼena)
  • Chichewa: please add this translation if you can
  • Chickasaw: sipokni
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: (gau6)
    Dungan: җю (ži͡u)
    Gan: (qiu5)
    Hakka: (PFS: khiu; Guangdong: kiu4)
    Jin: (jiou3)
    Mandarin:  (zh) (jiù), 古老 (zh) (gǔlǎo)
    Min Bei: (giū)
    Min Dong: (gô / gêu)
    Min Nan:  (zh-min-nan) (kū / kiū)
    Wu: (jjieu)
    Xiang: (jiou5 / jiou4)
  • Coptic: ⲁⲥ (as)
  • Cornish: hen, koth
  • Czech: starý (cs)
  • Dalmatian: vieclo m
  • Danish: gammel (da)
  • Dutch: oud (nl)
  • Esperanto: malnova (eo), grandaĝa
  • Estonian: vana (et)
  • Ewe: xoxo
  • Faroese: gamal (fo)
  • Finnish: vanha (fi)
  • French: (used before the noun) vieux (fr) m, vieille (fr) f
  • Friulian: vieli, vieri
  • Galician: vello (gl)
  • Georgian: ძველი (ʒveli)
  • German: alt (de)
  • Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis), 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis)
  • Greek: παλιός (el) m (paliós), αρχαίος (el) m (archaíos)
    Ancient: παλαιός (palaiós)
  • Gujarati: જૂનું (jūnũ)
  • Haitian Creole: vye
  • Hausa: tsoho
  • Hawaiian: kahiko
  • Hebrew: יָשָׁן (he) (yashán)
  • Higaonon: da-an
  • Hindi: पुराना (hi) (purānā)
  • Hittite: 𒈪𒅀𒄷𒉿𒀭𒍝 (miyaḫuwanz)
  • Hungarian: régi (hu)
  • Icelandic: gamall (is)
  • Ido: anciena (io), antiqua (io)
  • Igbo: ochie
  • Indonesian: lama (id)
  • Interlingua: vetere, vetule
  • Irish: sean (ga)
  • Istriot: viecio
  • Italian: vecchio (it)
  • Japanese: 古い (ja) (ふるい, furui)
  • Javanese: lama (jv), lawas (jv)
  • Kabardian: жьы (źə)
  • Kabuverdianu: antigu, antige, bedju, bedje
  • Kannada: ಪುರಾತನ (kn) (purātana)
  • Kashubian: stôri
  • Kazakh: ескі (kk) (eskı)
  • Khmer: ចាស់ (km) (cah)
  • Korean: 낡다 (ko) (nakda), 오래되다 (ko) (oraedoeda)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: کۆن (ckb) (kon)
    Northern Kurdish: kevn (ku)
  • Kyrgyz: эски (ky) (eski)
  • Lao: ເກົ່າ (lo) (kao)
  • Latgalian: vacs, senejais
  • Latin: vetus (la), vetulus (la)
  • Latvian: sens, vecs
  • Lezgi: кьуьзуь (q̇üzü)
  • Ligurian: vêgio
  • Lithuanian: senas (lt)
  • Livonian: vanā
  • Lombard: vegg (lmo) m, veggia (lmo) f
  • Louisiana Creole French: vyé
  • Lü: ᦂᧁᧈ (k̇aw¹)
  • Macedonian: стар (star)
  • Malay: lama (ms)
  • Malayalam: പഴയ (ml) (paḻaya), പഴയത് (ml) (paḻayatŭ)
  • Maltese: qadim m
  • Manchu: ᡶᡝ (fe)
  • Maori: tahito, tawhito
  • Marathi: जुना (mr) m (junā)
  • Minangkabau: lamo (min)
  • Mirandese: bielho
  • Mongolian: хуучин (xuučin), хөгшин (mn) (xögšin)
  • Muong: please add this translation if you can
  • Mòcheno: òlt
  • Navajo: sání
  • Neapolitan: viecchio
  • Nepali: पुरानो (ne) (purāno)
  • Ngazidja Comorian: -ɗuhazi
  • North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum) ual
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: gammel (no), gammal (no)
    Nynorsk: gamal, gammal
  • Occitan: vièlh (oc)
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    Cyrillic: старъ (starŭ)
  • Old East Slavic: старъ (starŭ)
  • Old English: eald (ang), gamol
  • Old Javanese: lama, lawas
  • Old Saxon: ald
  • Oriya: ପୁରୁଣା (or) (puruṇa)
  • Oromo: moofaa
  • Pashto: زوړ (ps) m (zoṛ), زړه (ps) f (zaṛa)
  • Persian: قدیمی (fa) (qadimi), دیرین (fa) (dirin) (archaic), کهن (fa) (kohan), کهنه (fa) (kohne)
  • Piedmontese: vecc
  • Pijin: olofala
  • Plautdietsch: oolt
  • Polish: stary (pl)
  • Portuguese: velho (pt), antigo (pt)
  • Punjabi: ਪੁਰਾਣਾ m (purāṇā), ਪੁਰਾਣੀ f (purāṇī), ਪੁਰਾਣੇ pl (purāṇe), ਪੁਰਾਣੀਆਂ f pl (purāṇīā̃)
  • Quechua: mauka
  • Rajasthani: please add this translation if you can
  • Romani: purano
  • Romanian: vechi (ro)
  • Romansch: vegl
  • Russian: ста́рый (ru) (stáryj)
  • Rusyn: стары́й (starŷ́j)
  • Samoan: leva
  • Saterland Frisian: oold
  • Scots: auld
  • Scottish Gaelic: sean, aosda, aosmhor
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: стар
    Roman: star (sh)
  • Shan: ၵဝ်ႇ (shn) (kào)
  • Sicilian: vecchiu
  • Sindhi: please add this translation if you can
  • Sinhalese: පැරණි (pæraṇi), පරණ (paraṇa)
  • Slovak: starý (sk)
  • Slovene: stàr (sl)
  • Somali: gabow
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: stary
    Upper Sorbian: stary (hsb)
  • Southern Altai: эски (eski)
  • Spanish: antiguo (es), viejo (es)
  • Sundanese: heubeul (su)
  • Swedish: gammal (sv), förlegad (sv), utsliten (sv)
  • Sylheti: ꠙꠥꠞ꠆ꠘꠣ (furna)
  • Tagalog: luma
  • Tai Dam: ꪹꪀ꪿ꪱ
  • Tajik: кӯҳна (tg) (kühna), қадим (tg) (qadim), қадими (qadimi)
  • Tamil: பழைய (ta) (paḻaiya)
  • Tarantino: vècchie
  • Tatar: иске (iske)
  • Tausug: dan
  • Telugu: పాత (te) (pāta)
  • Tetum: tuan
  • Thai: เก่า (th) (gào)
  • Tibetan: རྙིང་པ (rnying pa)
  • Tigrinya: ኣረጊት (ʾarägit)
  • Tongan: motuʻa
  • Turkish: eski (tr)
  • Turkmen: köne
  • Udi: биси (bisi)
  • Ukrainian: стари́й (starýj)
  • Urdu: پرانا(purānā)
  • Uyghur: ئەسكى(eski)
  • Uzbek: eski (uz)
  • Venetian: vecio
  • Vietnamese:  (vi)
  • Volapük: vönik (vo)
  • Walloon:  (wa)
  • Waray-Waray: da-an
  • Welsh: hen (cy)
  • West Frisian: âld (fy)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: da’an
  • White Hmong: hub
  • Yiddish: אַלט(alt), פֿאַרלעגן(farlegn), יעריק(yerik)
  • Zazaki: khan
  • Zealandic: oud
  • Zhuang: gaeuq
  • Zulu: please add this translation if you can

of a living being: having lived for relatively many years

  • Adyghe: жъы (ẑə)
  • Afrikaans: ou (af)
  • Albanian: plak (sq)
  • American Sign Language: S@Chin S@FromChin
  • Arabic: كَبِير اَلسِّنّ(kabīr as-sinn), مُسِنّ(musinn)
    Egyptian Arabic: عجوز‎ m (ʿagōz)
    Hijazi Arabic: كَبير(kabīr), عجوز‎ m (ʿajūz), شايب‎ m (šāyib)
    South Levantine Arabic: كبير(kbīr)
  • Aragonese: biello, viello (an) m
  • Armenian: ծեր (hy) (cer), պառավ (hy) (paṙav), տարեց (hy) (tarecʿ)
  • Assamese: বুঢ়া m (burha), বুঢ়ী f (burhi)
  • Asturian: vieyu (ast)
  • Azerbaijani: qoca (az)
  • Bashkir: ҡарт (qart)
  • Basque: zahar, agure m, atso f
  • Belarusian: стары́ (starý), пажылы́ (pažylý), у гада́х (u hadáx), немалады́ (njemaladý)
  • Bengali: পুরোনো (bn) (purōnō), প্রবীণ (probin)
  • Brunei Malay: tua, beumur
  • Bulgarian: стар (bg) (star), въ́зстар (vǎ́zstar), възста́р (vǎzstár), въ́зрастен (bg) (vǎ́zrasten)
  • Burmese: အို (my) (ui)
  • Catalan: vell (ca), gran (ca)
  • Chamicuro: shashaka
  • Cherokee: ᎠᎦᏴᎵ (agayvli)
  • Chickasaw: sipokni
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese:  (yue) (lou5)
    Dungan: ло (lo)
    Mandarin:  (zh) (lǎo), 年老的 (zh) (niánlǎo de), 老年的 (zh) (lǎonián de)
  • Chuvash: ватӑ (vat̬ă)
  • Czech: starý (cs)
  • Danish: gammel (da)
  • Dutch: oud (nl)
  • Esperanto: maljuna, grandaĝa, olda (eo)
  • Estonian: vana (et)
  • Etruscan: 𐌅𐌄𐌕𐌖𐌔 (vetus)
  • Even: хагди (hagʒi)
  • Evenki: сагды (sagdi)
  • Finnish: vanha (fi)
  • Franco-Provençal: vieu m
  • French: vieux (fr) (used before the noun)
  • Friulian: vieli
  • Galician: vello (gl)
  • Georgian: მოხუცი (moxuci), ბებერი (beberi), ხანდაზმული (xandazmuli)
  • German: alt (de)
    Middle High German: eltlich
  • Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis), 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃 (sineigs), 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis)
  • Greek: γηραιός (el) m (giraiós), ηλικιωμένος (el) m (ilikioménos)
    Ancient: γηραιός (gēraiós)
  • Hawaiian: luahine (of women), ʻelemakule (of men)
  • Hebrew: זָקֵן (he) (zakén), קָשִׁישׁ (he) m (kashísh)
  • Hiligaynon: baúg
  • Hindi: बूढ़ा (hi) (būṛhā)
  • Hungarian: öreg (hu), idős (hu)
  • Icelandic: gamall (is)
  • Ido: olda (io)
  • Igbo: agadi
  • Indonesian: tua (id)
  • Irish: sean (ga), aosta
  • Italian: vecchio (it), anziano (it)
  • Japanese: 年老いた (としおいた, toshioita), 老いた (ja) (おいた, oita)
  • Javanese: tuwa (jv)
  • Kabuverdianu: bedju, bedje
  • Karakhanid: يَشْلِغْ(yašlïɣ)
  • Kashubian: stôri
  • Kazakh: кәрі (kk) (kärı)
  • Khmer: ចាស់ (km) (cah)
  • Korean: 늙다 (ko) (neukda), 나이들다 (naideulda), 연로하다 (yeollohada), 나이 많다 (nai manta)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: پیرەمێرد(pîremêrd) (male), پیرەژن(pîrejn) (female)
    Northern Kurdish: pîr (ku), پیر (ku) (pîr)
  • Kyrgyz: кары (karı)
  • Lao: ແກ່ (lo) ()
  • Latin: vetus (la), vetulus (la), senex (la), annosus
  • Latvian: vecs
  • Ligurian: vêgio
  • Lithuanian: senas (lt)
  • Livonian: vanā
  • Lombard: vegg (lmo) m, veggia (lmo) f
  • Louisiana Creole French: vyé
  • Macedonian: стар (star)
  • Malay: tua (ms)
  • Malayalam: പഴയ (ml) (paḻaya), പഴയത് (ml) (paḻayatŭ)
  • Maltese: xiħ m, xiħa f, xjuħ pl
  • Manchu: ᠰᠠᡴᡩᠠ (sakda)
  • Marathi: भुंडा (bhuṇḍā)
  • Minangkabau: tuo (min), gaek (min)
  • Mongolian: хөгшин (mn) (xögšin)
  • Mòcheno: òlt
  • Nanai: сагди
  • Navajo: sání
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: gammel (no), gammal (no)
    Nynorsk: gamal, gammal
  • Occitan: vièlh (oc)
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    Cyrillic: старъ (starŭ)
  • Old East Slavic: старъ (starŭ)
  • Old English: eald (ang), gamol
  • Old Javanese: tuha
  • Ottoman Turkish: یاشلی(yaşlı)
  • Papiamentu: bieu
  • Persian: پیر (fa) (pir), کهنسال (fa) (kohansâl), مسن (fa) (mosen), زرمان(zarmân)
  • Plautdietsch: oolt
  • Polish: stary (pl), niemłody (pl)
  • Portuguese: velho (pt), idoso (pt)
  • Punjabi: ਬੁੱਢਾ (buḍḍhā)
  • Rapa Nui: koroua, tuuai
  • Romani: phuro
  • Romanian: bătrân (ro)
  • Romansch: vegl
  • Russian: ста́рый (ru) (stáryj), пожило́й (ru) (požilój) (elderly (of people)), немолодо́й (ru) (nemolodój), в лета́х (v letáx), в года́х (v godáx), в во́зрасте (ru) (v vózraste)
  • Rusyn: стары́й (starŷ́j)
  • Samoan: matua (sm)
  • Sanskrit: वृद्ध (sa) (vṛddha)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: стар
    Roman: star (sh)
  • Sinhalese: නාකි (nāki), වයසක (wayasaka)
  • Slovak: starý (sk), bývalý
  • Slovene: stàr (sl)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: stary
  • Spanish: anciano (es), viejo (es), provecto (es), añejo (es) (colloquial)
  • Sundanese: sepuh
  • Swedish: gammal (sv), åldrig (sv), ålderstigen (sv)
  • Tajik: пир (pir)
  • Tatar: карт (tt) (qart)
  • Tausug: mas
  • Telugu: ముసలి (te) (musali)
  • Tetum: katuas, ferik
  • Thai: แก่ (th) (gɛ̀ɛ)
  • Tocharian B: ktsaitstse, śrāñ
  • Tongan: motuʻa
  • Turkish: yaşlı (tr)
  • Turkmen: garry
  • Udmurt: пересь (pereś)
  • Ukrainian: стари́й (starýj), лі́тній (uk) (lítnij), у літа́х (u litáx), немолоди́й (nemolodýj), підста́ркуватий (pidstárkuvatyj)
  • Urdu: بوڑھا(būṛhā)
  • Uyghur: قېرى(qëri)
  • Uzbek: qari (uz)
  • Venetian: vècio (vec), vecio m
  • Vietnamese: già (vi)
  • Waray-Waray: a-rug, lagas
  • Welsh: hen (cy)
  • West Frisian: âld (fy)
  • Yiddish: אַלט(alt), זקנדיק(zokndik), זקניש(zkeynish), יעריק(yerik)
  • Zazaki: khal (diq)
  • Zhuang: laux

former

  • Armenian: անցած (hy) (ancʿac)
  • Asturian: antiguu
  • Bashkir: элекке (elekke)
  • Bulgarian: бивш (bg) m (bivš)
  • Catalan: vell (ca), antic (ca)
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin:  (zh) (qián)
  • Czech: starý (cs)
  • Danish: tidligere
  • Dutch: vorig (nl), voormalig (nl)
  • Esperanto: eksa (eo), antaŭa
  • Estonian: endine (et), vana (et)
  • Finnish: vanha (fi), entinen (fi)
  • French: ancien (fr) (used before the noun), ex- (fr)
  • Galician: vello (gl) m
  • German: alt (de)
  • Greek: πρώην (el) (próin), τέως (el) (téos)
  • Hebrew: קודם‎ m (kodem)
  • Hungarian: régi (hu), régebbi (hu), előző (hu), korábbi (hu)
  • Irish: sean (ga), ath-
  • Italian: vecchio (it)
  • Kabuverdianu: antigu, antige
  • Korean: 오래되다 (ko) (oraedoeda)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: پێشو(pêşu)
    Northern Kurdish: (ya/yê) berê (ku)
  • Latin: antiquus (la) m, ex (la)
  • Latvian: vecs
  • Lombard: vegg (lmo) m, veggia (lmo) f
  • Louisiana Creole French: ansyen
  • Macedonian: стар (star)
  • Malay: lama (ms), bekas (ms)
  • Norwegian: gammel (no)
  • Old English: gēo, īu
  • Persian: قدیمی (fa) (qadimi), قبلی (fa) (qabli), پیشین (fa) (pišin), سابق (fa) (sâbeq)
  • Polish: stary (pl)
  • Portuguese: antigo (pt)
  • Romanian: vechi (ro), fost (ro)
  • Russian: бы́вший (ru) (bývšij), пре́жний (ru) (préžnij), ста́рый (ru) (stáryj)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: стар
    Roman: star (sh)
  • Slovak: starý (sk)
  • Slovene: stàr (sl)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: stary
  • Spanish: viejo (es) (used before the noun), sometimes with people ex- (es)
  • Swedish: tidigare (sv), före detta (sv)
  • Tagalog: dating
  • Telugu: మునుపటి (te) (munupaṭi)
  • Thai: เก่า (th) (gào), ก่อน (th) (gɔ̀ɔn)
  • Turkish: önceki (tr)
  • Venetian: vècio (vec), vecio
  • Vietnamese: cựu (vi)
  • Welsh: hen (cy)
  • West Frisian: âld (fy)
  • Yiddish: אַלט(alt), געוועזן(gevezn), ביזאַהעריק(bizaherik)

having existed or lived for the specified time

  • Catalan: tenir (ca) + period of time
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin:  (zh) (suì)
  • Czech: starý (cs)
  • Danish: gammel (da)
  • Esperanto: aĝa, jaraĝa, aĝi
  • Finnish: -vuotias, vanha (fi), ikäinen (fi)
  • French: avoir (fr) + period of time
  • German: alt (de)
  • Hebrew: בֵּן (he) m (ben), בַּת (he) f (bat)
  • Hungarian: (year/s old) éves (hu), (month/s old) hónapos (hu), (week/s old) hetes (hu), (day/s old) napos (hu), (hour/s old) órás (hu), (minute/s old) perces
  • Irish: d’aois
  • Italian: avere (it)
  • Japanese:  (ja) (さい, sai),  (ja) (さい, sai)
  • Kashmiri : ؤۂر(vạhạr) (year/s old)
  • Korean: 먹었다 (meogeotda)
  • Latin: natus esse
  • Latvian: vecs
  • Louisiana Creole French: period of time + nan or an
  • Macedonian: има (ima) + number + години (godini)
  • Navajo: nááhai
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: gammel (no), gammal (no)
    Nynorsk: gamal, gammal
  • Persian: ساله (fa) (sâle)
  • Polish: mieć (pl) + number + lata/lat
  • Portuguese: de (pt), com (pt)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: стар
    Roman: star (sh)
  • Slovak: starý (sk)
  • Slovene: stàr (sl)
  • Sorbian:
  • Spanish: de (es) + period of time, que tener + period of time + unit of time
  • Swedish: gammal (sv)
  • Tagalog: luma, dati
  • Turkish: number + yaşında
  • Vietnamese: tuổi (vi)
  • West Frisian: âld (fy)
  • Yiddish: ־יעריק(-yerik), ־יאָריק(-yorik)

(of an item) used, not new

  • Bashkir: иҫке (iθke)
  • Bulgarian: изпо́лзван (bg) (izpólzvan), износен (bg) (iznosen)
  • Dutch: oud (nl)
  • French: vieux (fr)
  • German: alt (de)
  • Greek:
    Ancient: παλαιός (palaiós)
  • Hungarian: régi (hu), használt (hu)
  • Latin: vetus (la)
  • Lombard: vegg (lmo) m, veggia (lmo) f
  • Louisiana Creole French: vyé
  • Persian: کهنه (fa) (kohne)
  • Plautdietsch: oolt
  • Portuguese: usado (pt)
  • Quechua: thanta
  • Swahili: -kuukuu
  • Vietnamese:  (vi)

tiresome

  • Bashkir: ялҡытҡан (yalqıtqan), биҙрәткән (biðrätkän)
  • Bulgarian: доса́ден (bg) (dosáden), на вто́ра ръка́ (na vtóra rǎká)
  • French: ça commence à bien faire (fr)
  • German: alt (de)
  • Hiligaynon: baúg
  • Hungarian: fárasztó (hu)
  • Portuguese: cansativo (pt)
  • Vietnamese: chán (vi)

Noun[edit]

old (plural olds)

  1. (with the, invariable plural only) People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.
    A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.
  2. (slang) A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.
  3. (slang, most often plural) One’s parents.
    I had to sneak out to meet my girlfriend and tell the olds I was going to the library.
  4. (Australia, uncountable) A typically dark-coloured lager brewed by the traditional top-fermentation method.
    • 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 117:

      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.

Anagrams[edit]

  • DLO, DOL, Dol, LDO, LOD, Lo’d, LoD, Lod, dol, lod

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɔlˀ/, [ˈʌlˀ]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse ǫld, from Proto-Germanic *aldiz, cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃 (alds).

Noun[edit]

old c (singular definite olden, not used in plural form)

  1. (archaic) period, age, generation
    • 1813, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Kristjan den sjette, in: Poetiske Skrifter, vol. 3, p. 306

      Hvad der bygtes i din Old, Bygtes som paa Grus og Sand.

      What was built in your age was built as if on gravel and sand.
    • 1805, Adam Oehleschläger, Isefjorden / https://kalliope.org/da/text/oehlenschlaeger2019020350

      Hvor de tykke Piller favne / Støvet af de store Navne, / Som ei døer, ei blier forgiettet, / Naar min Old er længst udslettet.

      Where the massive columns embrace the dust of the great names that will not die, will not be forgotten when my generation has been obliterated for a long time.
  2. (archaic, rare) antiquity
    • 1891, Holger Drachmann, Vildt og tæmmet, 299

      Andenlæreren var en Sværmer, og en fanatisk Sværmer, for den nordiske Old.

      The teaching assistant was an enthusiast, a fanatic enthusiast, for the Nordic Antiquity.
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
  • hedenold
  • old-
  • olding
  • oldsag
  • oldtid

References[edit]

  • “Old,1” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Etymology 2[edit]

Clipping of oldtidskundskab.

Noun[edit]

old c (uninflected)

  1. Classical Civilization (a course in secondary school)
    Synonym: oldtidskundskab
Derived terms[edit]
  • oldlærer

References[edit]

  • “old” in Den Danske Ordbog

German Low German[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • oold, ol, olt

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German ôlt. The A became an O through the effect of the velarised L in the same manner as in Dutch oud.

Cognate with English old, Dutch oud, German alt, West Frisian âld.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɔːɫt/

Adjective[edit]

old (comparative öller, superlative öllst)

  1. old

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of old

gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is old se is old dat is old se sünd old
partitive een olls een olls wat olls allens oll
strong declension
(without article)
nominative olle olle old olle
oblique ollen olle old olle
weak declension
(with definite article)
nominative de olle de olle dat olle de ollen
oblique den ollen de olle dat olle de ollen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)
nominative en olle en olle en old/ollet (keen) ollen
oblique en ollen en olle en old/ollet (keen) ollen

Comparative forms of old

gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is öller se is öller dat is öller se sünd öller
partitive een öllers een öllers wat öllers allens öller
strong declension
(without article)
nominative öllere öllere öller öllere
oblique öllern öllere öller öllere
weak declension
(with definite article)
nominative de öllere de öllere dat öllere de öllern
oblique den öllern de öllere dat öllere de öllern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)
nominative en öllere en öllere en öller (keen) öllern
oblique en öllern en öllere en öller (keen) öllern

Superlative forms of old

gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is de Öllste se is de Öllste dat is dat Öllste se sünd de Öllsten
strong declension
(without article)
nominative öllste öllste öllst öllste
oblique öllsten öllste öllst öllste
weak declension
(with definite article)
nominative de öllste de öllste dat öllste de öllsten
oblique den öllsten de öllste dat öllste de öllsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)
nominative en öllste en öllste en öllst (keen) öllsten
oblique en öllsten en öllste en öllst (keen) öllsten
Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Descendants[edit]

  • German: oll

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Uralic *aŋa- (to loosen, open (up), untie) [1] + -d (frequentative suffix).[2]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈold]
  • Homophone: oldd
  • Rhymes: -old

Verb[edit]

old

  1. (transitive) to solve
  2. (transitive) to untie

Conjugation[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

  • oldat
  • oldatlan
  • oldható
  • oldoz
  • oldódik

(With verbal prefixes):

  • elold
  • felold
  • kiold
  • leold
  • megold
  • kereket old

References[edit]

  1. ^ Entry #16 in Uralonet, online Uralic etymological database of the Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungary.
  2. ^ old in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Further reading[edit]

  • old in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Middle Low German[edit]

Adjective[edit]

old

  1. Alternative spelling of ôlt.

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