alder-

English

Alternative forms

• aller-, allur-, aldyr-, alther- (all obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English alder-, from Old English ealra, genitive plural of eall (“all”). Compare German aller-, Dutch aller-, Old Norse allra. For the epenthetic /d/, compare with the development of unrelated alder.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːldə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US, Canada)
  • (without the cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɔldɚ/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑldɚ/

Prefix

alder-

1. (obsolete) Of all; having the greatest degree of something, prefixed to superlative adjectives and adverbs.

   ‎alder- + ‎liefest → ‎alderliefest (“dearest of all”)

   ‎alder- + ‎best → ‎alderbest (“best of all”)

Usage notes

• The prefix was already no longer in common use in Early Modern English and in later use mainly found in alderliefest as an epithet.

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with alder-

Anagrams

• Leard, lared, Adler, Radle, Radel, lader, Alred, Eldar