| Usually elder and eldest are used only of people, as in She’s my elder sister, whereas older and oldest can be used of either persons or things, as in She’s my older sister and These are my oldest clothes. When used with than, older is almost always the choice: She is two years older than I. With of, either older or elder, oldest or eldest will do: She’s the oldest [eldest, older, elder] of my children. Functional shift has given us elder and eldest as nouns as well: Be respectful to your elders. He is an elder in his church. She is our eldest. See THAN. |
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