Middle English

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Adjective

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eald

  1. Alternative form of old

Old English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, a suffixed form of *h₂el- (grow, nourish).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /æ͜ɑld/, [æ͜ɑɫd]

Adjective

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eald (comparative ieldra, superlative ieldest)

  1. old
    eald eart þū?
    How old are you?
    • The Dialogues of Solomon and Saturn
      Ic þē secge, hēo wæs iii and sixtiġ ġēara eald, ðā hēo belȳfen wæs...
      I tell thee, she was three and sixty years old when she died...
    • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
      An. DCCCCLXIIII Hēr drǣfde Ēadgār cyng þā preostas on Ċeastre of ealdan mynstre, ⁊ nīwan mynstre, ⁊ of Ċeortesiġe, ⁊ of Middeltūne, ⁊ sette hȳ mid munecan, ⁊ hē sette Æðelgār abbod tō nīwan mynstre tō abbode, Ordbriht to Ċeortesiġe, ⁊ Cyneweard to Middeltūne.
      Year 964 In this year King Edgar drove the priests in Chester out of the old monastery and the new monastery, and out of Chertsey and Middleton and replaced them with monks. He appointed Abbot Athelgar as abbot of the new monastery, Ordbright as abbot of Chertsey, and Cyneweard as abbot of Middleton.
  2. ancient
    on ealdum dagum
    in ancient times, in olden days
  3. (in compounds) original
    Ealdseaxanthe continental Saxons
  4. grand-

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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