Word Confusion: Elder versus Eldest

Posted November 27, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
12 Nov 2022

It’s a subtle word confusion, elder versus eldest, and as long as you remember that she is elder than you while he is the eldest of all, you’ll be fine. And, I can hear y’all wondering WTF?

Had to grab your attention, didn’t I, lol. Elder requires two, whether that two is people, critters, computers, electronic gadgets, what have you, you have to have two. Now if you’re going to talk about more than two, you have to switch over to eldest.

Eldest is also only an adjective, which means it requires a word to follow it. The eldest . . . son, daughter, child, woman, man, priest, president, baby, quilt . . . Yes, some of these possible combinations sound awkward, which is why oldest is a common substitute.

You may want to explore “Elder versus Older“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Elder	Eldest
Afghan Elder and His Cat by English: Sgt. Teddy Wade is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.	Tsar Alexander III with His Wife and Their Three Eldest Children by Sergey Lvovich Levitsky is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective ¹, ⁴; Noun ¹, ², ³ Plural: elders	Adjective
Adjective: A comparison of old with eldest as the superlative ¹ Use elder when speaking of two people.	Adjective: A superlative of old with elder as a comparative Use eldest when speaking of three or more people.
Of greater age Older Of higher rank Senior Of or pertaining to former times Earlier Born earlier ⁴ A senior Compare older [In piquet and similar card games] Denoting or relating to the nondealer (the elder hand), who has certain advantages in the play [Archaic] Prior in rank, position, or office [Archaic] Of a previous time Former Noun: A person who is older or higher in rank than oneself ¹ One’s senior An aged person An influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler A superior A presbyter [In certain Protestant churches] A lay member who is a governing officer, often assisting the pastor in services [Mormon Church] A member of the Melchizedek priesthood [A.k.a. elderberry] Any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Sambucus, of the honeysuckle family, having pinnate leaves, clusters of white flowers, and red or black, berrylike fruit ² Any of various unrelated plants, such as box elder and marsh elder ³ [Anthropological] A senior member of a tribe who has influence or authority ⁴	Oldest First-born Of greatest age Being the oldest, especially the oldest surviving child of the same parents
Examples:
Adjective: Jane is the elder daughter (of the two). He was an elder officer. Much that was forbidden by elder custom is accepted today. Noun: He’s my elder. Elderberries make a great wine. He is an Elder in the church.	Jane is the eldest daughter (of the three). My eldest brother is not able to visit. My eldest sister is coming for tea. I am the eldest born, but John is the eldest son.
Usage Notes: The word elder is being increasingly used, as a more respectful way of referring to older people: elder care, elder abuse.
Derivatives:
Noun: eldership
History of the Word:
Its first known use was before 900. Middle English; Old English eldra, comparative of eald Its first known use was before 900. Middle English eldre, elrene, ellerne, Old English ellærn. Relates to the Middle Low German ellern. Old English ellern. Related to the Old Norse elrir, the Old High German erlīn, the Old Slavonic jelǐcha, and the Latin alnus. Old English eldra, comparative of eald meaning old and related to the Old Norse ellri, the Old High German altiro, and the Gothic althiza.	Its first known use was before 900. Middle English; Old English eldesta, superlative of eald.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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