English

elderfather

Elderfather comes from Middle English eldrefader.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 2011, Octavia E. Butler: “[...] He was Daniel's elderfather. And he favored a…”

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós

Proto-Germanic *aldaz ‘old, grown up’

Old English eldra

Middle English eldre

English elder

Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr

Proto-Germanic *fadēr

Proto-West Germanic *fader

Old English fæder

Middle English fader ‘a father’

Every English word from Middle English eldrefader

noun Synonym of eldfather.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.