eld

/ɛld/

//ɛld// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"eld" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“eld” is uncommon English (frequency #62,863 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,863
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One's age, age in years, period of life.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eld · eld · English

eld · rank #62,863 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,863
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH EIC

Nearest frequency peer: EIC (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “eld”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “eld” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for eld
PropertyValue
Headwordeld
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɛld/
Letters3
Frequency rank#62,863
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “eld” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).eldfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “EIC” (#62,862), “electioneering” (#62,864), “Elim” (#62,865). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “eld” is #62,863. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

eld is uncommon English at frequency #62,863 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɛld/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

eld has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English elde, from Old English ieldu, eldo, ieldo (“age, period of time; period; time of life, years; mature or old age, eld; an age of the world, era, epoch”), from Proto-West Germanic *aldī, from Proto-Germanic *alþį̄ (“eld, age”), from *aldaz… The correct English form is eld, spelled E-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    One's age, age in years, period of life.
  2. 2
    Old age, senility; an old person.
  3. 3
    Time; an age, an indefinitely long period of time.
  4. 4
    Former ages, antiquity, olden times.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how eld appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The experience of many years gave old men peculiar qualification for various offices; and elders, or men of a ripe or advanced eld or age, were variously employed under the Mosaic law.
  2. Promptly appeared a paragon, aged twenty-five or thereabouts, and exhibiting all the steadiness and serenity of advanced eld.

Etymology

From Middle English elde, from Old English ieldu, eldo, ieldo (“age, period of time; period; time of life, years; mature or old age, eld; an age of the world, era, epoch”), from Proto-West Germanic *aldī, from Proto-Germanic *alþį̄ (“eld, age”), from *aldaz (“grown up, mature, old”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“to raise, feed”). Cognate with Scots eild (“age”), North Frisian jelde (“age”), German Älte (“age”), Danish ælde (“eld, age”), Icelandic elli (“eld, age”). Related also to Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃 (alds, “generation, age”), Old English alan (“to grow up, nourish”). More at old.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "eld"?
"eld" is spelled E-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛld/.
What does "eld" mean?
As a noun, "eld" means: One's age, age in years, period of life.
How do you pronounce "eld"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eld" is /ɛld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "eld"?
From Middle English elde, from Old English ieldu, eldo, ieldo (“age, period of time; period; time of life, years; mature or old age, eld; an age of the world, era, epoch”), from Proto-West Germanic *aldī, from Proto-Germanic *alþį̄ (“eld, age”), f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "eld", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

EIC#62,862ees#62,860diz#62,845CSB#62,811

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list