old
part of speech
adjective (old, older, oldest; elder, eldest for family); noun (the old — old people)
meaning for a pupil
1) Old tells how long someone or something has lived or been: «Tom is 7 years old». tree →
2) Old means having lived a long time: «an old man». tree →
3) Old means not new, used for a long time: «old shoes». tree →
4) Old can mean from before: «my old school». tree →
5) (casual) «Old» is said in a friendly way: «old mate», «good old Dad», «any old thing» (anything at all). tree →
6) (casual, rude) «My old man» and «my old lady» are slang for dad and mum (or husband and wife); «old fart», «old bag» are rude names for old people. tree →
7) (euphemism) Polite words for old people are «older people», «seniors», «elderly», «senior citizens», «getting on a bit». tree →
8) (formal) Exams say «aged», «of age», «the age of», «antique», «former» and «previously». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah, old often gives a person's age, and very long lives are told in years. In the primary lessons: how many years a person has lived: «How old» asks for an age in years; in history, old things come from long ago; phrases: «years old», «how old», «old friend», «in the old days», «grow old», «old-fashioned», «same old»; in casual talk «how old r u», «old mate», «old school» (in the old style, cool), «my old man»; in rough talk «old git», «ya old moaner»; euphemism «getting on a bit», «elderly», «senior»; in the exam voice «aged 7 years», «the present age of», «the age attained»
examples
- And Isaac was threescore years old when she bore them. (Torah GEN.25.26, JPS 1917) tree →
- So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old. (Torah GEN.50.26, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Torah GEN.5.32, JPS 1917) tree →
- So Job died, being old and full of days. (Writings JOB.42.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- Both young men and maidens, old men and children; (Writings PSA.148.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign. (Prophets 2KI.12.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- Tom is 7 years old. How old is Anna? tree →
- Lily is 9 years old and her sister is 4. tree →
- How old will Ben be in 3 years? tree →
- My grandad is very old, but he still cycles. tree →
- These shoes are old and have holes in them. tree →
- I met my old teacher in the shop. tree →
- The castle is about 800 years old. tree →
- how old's ur nan, like 80? tree →
- My old man says I'm getting 2 dollars a week. tree →
- Grandpa's getting on a bit, so we carry his bags. tree →
- A pupil, presently aged 7 years, has a sibling aged 4 years. Determine the age of the sibling when the pupil attains the age of 10. tree →
- Be kind and patient with old people. tree →
- "Who's there?" asked the old lady. tree →
note
«How old» asks for an age in years. Trap: in N years both people are N years older, so their difference stays the same. «a 7-year-old» is a child of 7 (no «s» on year before old). «aged 7» and «presently aged 7 years» mean 7 years old now. «elderly» and «seniors» are the polite words; «old git» is rude.
In the corpora
- And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
- And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
- Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood.
- But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
- And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «old» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.