Where does “older” come from?

older (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Old Norse ǫlr, from Proto-Germanic aluz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élis-, from Proto-Indo-European el- — to bend; red, brown; hungry.

older (Norwegian Bokmål): an alder

Definitions

  1. an alder

Ancestry of “older”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseǫlrdrunk; alder
2Proto-Germanicaluz—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂élis-alder
4Proto-Indo-Europeanel-to bend; red, brown; hungry
Every word from Proto-Indo-European el- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂élis- →Every word from Proto-Germanic aluz →