English
eldmother
Eldmother comes from Old English eald mōdor ‘grandmother’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150eald mōdor‘grandmother’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eldmoder
- Englishearliest quotation 1571eldmother
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150eald mōdor‘grandmother’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eldmoder
- Englishearliest quotation 1571eldmother
Earliest quotation: 1571, John Heworth of Gatisheid, Will: “Item I gyve vnto my eldmother his wyffe my…”
A compound of eld ‘old’ + mother
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’
…
Proto-Germanic *alþį̄ ‘eld, age’
Proto-West Germanic *aldī ‘age, time period’
Old English ieldu ‘period’
Middle English elde ‘age, span of years’
English eld
Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr
Proto-Germanic *mōdēr
Proto-West Germanic *mōder
Old English mōdor
Middle English moder ‘a mother’
English mother
Every English word from Old English eald mōdor
Today it means
noun One's grandmother or other female ancestor, or one's mother-in-law.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English eald mōdor / eldmother