âgé

âgé is a French adjective meaning old, elderly, or aged. It describes someone or something that has reached an advanced stage of life or longevity. The feminine form is âgée; the masculine plural is âgés and the feminine plural is âgées. In practice, it is used with a noun: un homme âgé, une femme âgée, or more generally la personne âgée. The expression être âgé de + number specifies a precise age, as in il est âgé de 75 ans.

Etymology and pronunciation: âgé derives from the noun âge (age) with the adjectival suffix -é. The word carries a nuance of formality and politeness and is often preferred in respectful or official contexts. Phonetically, it is pronounced [a.ʒe].

Usage notes: in everyday speech, vieux is more common for describing someone’s age, but âgé is favored in formal, medical, social, or policy language. In addition to people, the term can describe long-lived objects or entities, though this usage is less frequent. In aging-related discourse, related terms such as vieillissement (aging) and personnes âgées (older people) are common.

Translations: âgé corresponds to “aged” or “elderly” in English. The choice of term can convey degrees of formality or politeness; policier or public-facing language tends to use personne âgée rather than vieux.

See also: vieillesse; vieillissement; personne âgée; relation with other descriptors of age in French vocabulary. Note that as a noun, âgé is uncommon; the preferred noun form is une personne âgée.