eald

• ald, eold, æld, eld

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

• IPA^(key): /æ͜ɑld/, [æ͜ɑɫd]

eald (comparative ieldra, superlative ieldest)

1. old

   Hū 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...

2. ancient

   on ealdum dagum

   in ancient times, in olden days

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Octaves and Circumcision of Our Lord"

     Þā ealdan Rōmāne, on hǣðenum dagum, ongunnon þæs ġēares ymbryne on þissum dæġe.

     The Ancient Romans, in pagan times, began the course of the year on this day.

3. (in compounds) original

   Ealdseaxan ― the continental Saxons

4. grand-

• ealdnes
• efneald
• ieldu

• Middle English: olde, old, ald; holde, wolde; yolde, yhold, yolle
  • English: old, wold (dialect)
  • Geordie English: awd, auld
  • Scots: auld
  • Yola: yole, yold