elder
adjective /ˈeldə(r)/
  /ˈeldər/
 - [only before noun] (of people, especially two members of the same family指人,尤指同一家庭里两个成员中 年纪较长的 - my elder brother我的哥哥 
- his elder sister他的姐姐 
 
- my elder brother
- the elderused without a noun immediately after it to show who is the older of two people(后面不紧跟名词,指两者中的)较年长者 - the elder of their two sons他们的两个儿子中年纪较大的那个 
 
- the elder of their two sons
- the elder(formal) used before or after somebody’s name to show that they are the older of two people who have the same name(用于人名前或后,指同名的两个人中)年龄较大的一个 - the elder Pitt老皮特 
- Pitt the elder老皮特 
 Synonyms oldoldcompare the younger- elderly
- aged
- long-lived
- mature
 - old having lived for a long time; no longer young:- She’s getting old—she’s 75 next year.她上年纪了,明年就 75 岁了。 
 
- She’s getting old—she’s 75 next year.
- elderly (rather formal) used as a polite word for ‘old’:old 的委婉语,指年纪较大的、上了年纪的: - She is very busy caring for two elderly relatives.她在忙着照顾两个年老的亲戚。 
 
- She is very busy caring for two elderly relatives.
- aged (formal) very old:指年迈的、年老的: - Having aged relatives to stay in your house can be quite stressful.年迈的亲戚住在家里有时压力相当大。 
 
- Having aged relatives to stay in your house can be quite stressful.
- long-lived having a long life; lasting for a long time:- Everyone in my family is exceptionally long-lived.我们家每个人都特别长寿。 
 
- Everyone in my family is exceptionally long-lived.
- mature used as a polite or humorous way of saying that somebody is no longer young:- clothes for the mature woman成年妇女的服装 
 
- clothes for the mature woman
 - a(n) old/elderly/aged/long-lived/mature man/woman
- a(n) old/elderly/aged/mature gentleman/lady/couple
 
- the elder Pitt
词源adjective Old English ieldra, eldra, of Germanic origin; related to German älter, also to old.