Älterer

Älterer is a German adjective form related to the word alt, meaning older. It is the masculine singular inflected form used in attributive position after an indefinite article or possessive determiner, for example ein älterer Mann or mein älterer Bruder. With a definite article, the corresponding form is der ältere Mann, where the ending is -e. In other genders and numbers, the endings differ (eine ältere Frau, das ältere Kind, ältere Männer), but the specific form älterer appears in masculine singular with non-definite determiners.

As a member of the comparative structure, the comparative degree itself is älter (for example, Der Mann ist älter als der Junge). The form älterer is not used in comparative clauses; it is a special attributive ending that appears only in certain determiner contexts, not in comparisons introduced by als.

Älterer can also appear in a noun-like sense through related forms. In standard German, the noun for an elder or senior is der Ältere (plural die Älteren), meaning a person who is older or holds an elder role in a group. This noun form is distinct from the adjective and is capitalized when used as a noun.

Etymology traces back to the adjective alt, itself from Old High German alt and related to other Germanic languages’ terms for old or aged. The word has a direct function in everyday language for describing age, and its inflected forms integrate with German article systems to mark gender, number, and case.