Pylimitics

In the olden days, “old” was “eld” and “oldest” was “eldest.” “Eld” is much older…er, “elder.”.. than “old,” having been a word in Old English, when it was “eald” — at least in the dialect of Old English spoken in West Saxony. Prior to Old English, “eld” goes all the way back to Proto-Indo-European. In other words, it’s really eld…er, old. And it has always meant what it means today. 

“Old” also comes from Proto-Indo-Europea roots, but it comes from the root “al-,” which meant to grow or nourish. That root is also the source of Latin words like “alere” (nourish), “adultus” (adult), and “altus” (high or deep). By the 800s, comparative forms had appeared: “elder” and “eldest”; it appears (spelled “ieldran”) in the “Consolation of Philosophy” from about 880:

“Ic ðe geongne gelærde swelce snytro swylce manegum oþrum ieldran gewittum oftogen is” (“I taught thee in thy youth such wisdom as is hidden from many elder wise men”).

It also appears in an Old English riddle, part of the collection The Exeter Riddles, which is probably from the late 900s:

“Ic eom micle yldra þonne ymbhwyrft þes oþþe þes middangeard meahte geweorþa” (“I am much elder than the world or the earth might ever become”).

Since I’m getting this from etymological sources instead of puzzle or humor books, the answer to the puzzle isn’t listed. Also, the whole riddle is enormous; more than 100 lines long. If you want the whole riddle (and the solution), it’s #40 from The Exeter Riddles and it’s translated and solved on the website The Riddle Ages, which is definitely worth a visit.

That P-I-E root “al-” by the way, appears in even more words. “Alderman” is a modernization of the Old English “ealdorman,” a high-ranking leader. 

But fast forwarding to modern times, it’s a little bit unusual that even though English already had “eld” words, and then acquired “old” words (which at the time were new words, of course), both “elder” and “older” are still in use. “Eld” itself disappeared a long time ago, around the 900s, although only in that specific form. “Older” and “oldest” are more often used today, but you still find “elder” and “eldest” pretty frequently. They mean the same thing, but with some subtle differences. “Older” can refer to anything, but “elder” (and “eldest”) mostly just refer to people. Usage is more finicky too; while it’s perfectly normal to say “Lee is older than Kim,” you’d never say “Lee is elder than Kim” even though “Lee is the elder sibling” is perfectly OK.  And finally — and this refers only to a subtlety of usage between “eldest” and “elder” — “elder” is used when there are two people, and “eldest” is used when there are three or more.