# elder vs elderly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### elder
*adjective · IPA /ˈeldə/ · frequency rank #6,465*
comparative degree of old: older, greater than another in age or seniority.

### elderly
*adjective · IPA /ˈɛldɚli/ · frequency rank #5,593*
old; having lived for relatively many years.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elder-vs-elderly