older

Older is the comparative form of the adjective old. It denotes greater age or a longer existence relative to another thing. Older can describe people, animals, objects, events, or periods of time. In everyday use it often signals chronological age, but it can also refer to things that originated earlier or have existed longer.

For people, older generally means more advanced in age. The word elder is a more formal or traditional counterpart used in some contexts, especially within families or when addressing or describing authority or status (for example, an elder statesman or an elder sibling). In general prose and conversation, older is the standard choice.

In reference to nonhuman things, older describes a longer age or an earlier release or manufacture date. You might compare two cars by saying one is older, or refer to an older version of a software program. The standard superlative form for a group is oldest (older for two items, oldest for three or more).

Grammar notes: older is the standard comparative; the forms more old and most old are not used in modern English. Older can be combined with than (older than) to establish a comparison, and with of the two to indicate the greater age of one member in a pair.

Etymology: older derives from Old English eald, with the comparative suffix -er. Its basic sense relates to long-standing existence and antiquity, a meaning carried into many languages and domains.