Elder and Older Are Not Interchangeable
Elder means older, but only in restricted ways. English keeps a separate comparative that survives in a handful of fixed uses.
Elder means older, and also names a respected senior person or a tree with white flowers. The grammar is narrower than it looks: *elder* is used only of people, usually within a family, and it cannot take *than*. You say the elder brother, but never he is elder than me — that requires *older*. The tree is a separate word entirely, from Old English *ellen*, and has nothing to do with age.
- Older, of family members. *My elder sister.*
- A respected senior. *A village elder.*
- A church officer. *A church elder.*
- A tree. *Elderflower cordial.*
- Eldest — the superlative. *The eldest child.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | elder | My elder brother. |
| Superlative | eldest | The eldest son. |
| Noun | elder | A village elder. |
| Noun | elder | An elder tree. |
| Compound | elderflower | Elderflower. |
- My elder sister lives abroad.Family.
- He is older than me.Never elder than.
- Elderflower cordial is made in June.The tree.
Elder or older?
- Elder — people only, usually siblings, never with than
- Older — anything, and the only choice with than
- Eldest — of three or more family members
- Oldest — of anything else
- Elderly — a polite adjective for an old person
Old English *ieldra*, the comparative of *eald*, old. The tree name is a separate word, Old English *ellærn*.
Can I say elder than?
No. Elder cannot be followed by than. Use older instead.
Is the elder tree named for age?
No. It is a separate Old English word, unrelated to old, that happens to look the same.