Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “elderly” come from?

Elderly derives from English elder, itself from Old English -līċ, traced through Proto-Indo-European al- and h₂el-, meaning to grow or nourish.

elderly (English): old; having lived for relatively many years; Of...

Definitions

  1. old; having lived for relatively many years; Of...

Ancestry of “elderly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englisheldercomparative degree of old: older, greater than...
2English-domForming nouns denoting the condition or state of...
3EnglishDOMInitialism of date of marriage; Initialism of...
4EnglishdominanceThe state of being dominant; of prime importance;...
5English-anceAdded to an adjective or verb to form a noun...
6Middle English-aunce—
7Old French-ance-ance
8Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
9Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
10Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
11Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “elderly”

  • nonelderly
  • elderliness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →