elderly

[Eng. elder; -ly.] Rather old; having pa ed middle age; bordering upon old age. "A young man, an elderly man, an olde man, to preache earlie and late."- Wilson: Art of Logic, fol. 58. *ěl'-dern, *el-lern, *el-lerne, a . [A. S. ellarna . ( Somner .)] A. As adj .: Of or pertaining to elder; made of elder. B. As subst.: The elder ( Sambucus nigra ). ěl-der-ship, *el-der-schip, s. [A. S. ealdor scype .] I. Ordinary Language: 1. The state of being older; seniority in age. "No other dominion than paternity and eldership ."Raleigh: Hist. of World , bk. i., ch. ix., § 1. 2. In the same sense as II. "That controversy sprang up between Beza and Erastus, about the matter of excommunications; whether there ought to be in all churches an eldership , having power to excommunicate, and a part of that eldership to be of nece ity certain chosen out from among the laity." Hooker : Eccles . Polity (Pref.). 3. The body of, or order of elders collectively. II. Eccles.: The elders of a Calvin is tic Church taken collectively. [ELDER (1).]