elder
part of speech
adjective (elder, eldest); noun (an elder, elders; elder tree)
meaning for a pupil
1) Elder means older, often said of a brother or sister: «my elder sister». tree →
2) An elder is an older person, often one who is respected and wise in a family or group. tree →
3) An elder is a small tree with white flowers and dark berries (elderberries). tree →
sense in the lessons
compares ages; «elder by 3 years» means the age difference is 3; in families: the elder child, the eldest of three; in many cultures, including First Nations, Aboriginal and Maori communities, elders are respected for their knowledge; in manners: be polite to your elders; phrases: «elder brother», «eldest son», «respect your elders»
examples
- Her elder brother is 12. tree →
- His elder sister is 4 years older than him. tree →
- The elder sister is twice as old as the younger. tree →
- How old is the elder child? tree →
- The village elders met to decide. tree →
- Be polite to your elders. tree →
- She is the eldest of four children. tree →
- We made jam from elderberries. tree →
- The elder brother was very angry. tree →
note
A comparison of ages: elder = younger + difference. Trap: the age difference stays the same as years pass. Use «elder/eldest» for family before a noun («my elder sister»); use «older» with «than» («she is older than me», not «elder than»).
In the corpora
- In Chinese families you greet each elder by their title, out loud: «yéye hǎo!».
- "hóngbāo" is a red envelope with money in it, given by elders to children at New Year, birthdays and weddings.
- Presbyterian churches are led by elected elders, called presbyters.
- Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
- And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «elder» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.