elderly
eld·er·ly/ˈɛldɚli/adjective, noun
elderly is spelled E-L-D-E-R-L-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (eld·er·ly). It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, elderly means “old; having lived for relatively many years” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in elderly?
| Letters | 7: E-L-D-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: eld·er·ly |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is elderly?
Elderly appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce elderly?
- US /ˈɛldɚli/
- UK /ˈɛldəli/
Elderly has 3 syllables, split eld·er·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-elderly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of elderly
- more elderly comparative
- most elderly superlative
- elderlies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does elderly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
old; having lived for relatively many years.
- 2
Of an object, being old-fashioned or frail due to aging.
noun
- 1
Older people as a whole.
the elderly
- 2
An elderly person.
He lives next door to an elderly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Elderly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vieux, ancien, âgé , aîné, personne âgée |
| German | älter, bejahrt, betagt |
| Portuguese | idoso, idosa |
| Spanish | anciano, entrado en años |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does elderly come from?
From elder + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).