aldern.¹

Brit.

/ˈɔːldə/,

/ˈɒldə/, U.S.

/ˈɔldər/,

/ˈɑldər/

Forms:

α. early Old English alaer, Old English alrr (rare), Old English (early Middle English in copy of Old English charter) ælr- (in compounds), Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter, in compounds) aler, Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter, in compounds) alor, Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter) alr, late Old English (early Middle English in copy of Old English charter) alar- (in compounds), early Middle English heller- (in compounds), early Middle English olrr, Middle English aelres (plural, in copy of Old English charter), Middle English aleyr, Middle English aleyre, Middle English alre, Middle English holir, Middle English nalre, Middle English–1700s aller, Middle English–1700s eller, late Middle English ellyr, late Middle English nellyr- (in compounds), 1500s owler, 1600s oller, 1600s ouller, 1600s–1700s allar, 1600s–1700s oler; English regional 1800s– aller, 1800s– ellar (northern), 1800s– eller (chiefly northern), 1800s– oler (northern and midlands), 1800s– oller (northern and midlands), 1800s– owler (northern and midlands); Scottish pre-1700 allour, pre-1700 1700s–1800s allar, pre-1700 1700s– aller, 1700s ouler, 1700s owler, 1800s aar (western), 1800s eller (western).

β. early Old English alter, Middle English aldir, Middle English aldre, Middle English aldur, Middle English aldyr, Middle English althir, Middle English haldrys (plural), Middle English– alder, 1500s allder, 1500s–1600s (1900s– Irish English (northern)) elder.

See also orl n.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian erl , ierl (implied in the derived adjective erlen , ierlen aldern adj.), Old Saxon elira , aeleri (Middle Low German elre , alre , aller ), Old High German elira , elera , elre , (with metathesis) erila , erla (Middle High German elre , eller , (with metathesis) erile , erel , erl , erle , German Erle , (now rare or regional) Eller ), Old Icelandic elri , alri , neuter, elrir , ǫlr , masculine, Danish el , Old Swedish al (Swedish al ), and ( < the same Germanic base without the operation of Verner's Law) Old Dutch elis (in place names; Middle Dutch else , Dutch els ), Old Saxon els (in a late source; Middle Low German else ), and (perhaps < Middle Low German) German Else , probably < the same Indo-European base as (with various ablaut grades) Old Russian ol′xa (Russian ol′xa ), el′xa , Serbian and Croatian (regional) jeha , Polish olcha , (with a different suffix) Slovak jelša , and probably Gaulish alisia (e.g. in Alisiia , the name of Alesia, a Gaulish tribal capital (now Alise-Ste-Reine, Burgundy), and also in river names); also (with different suffixes) classical Latin alnus aln n., (additionally with insertion of -k-), Old Prussian alskande or aliskande (attested as abskande, which apparently reflects a scribal error), Lithuanian alksnis, (regional) elksnis, etc.Indo-European base and possible cognates. The Indo-European base probably is originally a colour term meaning ‘reddish-brown’, originally referring to the reddish colour of cut alder wood. Compare Middle Dutch elu yellow, pale, Old High German elo yellow, brownish-yellow, greyish-yellow (Middle High German el , German regional (southern) elw , elb ). For a tree name probably also ultimately derived from this Indo-European colour term, compare elm n. (Alternatively, an origin in a non-Indo-European substrate language has been suggested (perhaps compare Basque haltza , altza ), for which see T. Vennemann in Interdisciplinary Jrnl. Germanic Linguistics 1 (1996) 113–45.) The origin of post-classical Latin alisa alder (947 in an isolated attestation in a Spanish source in inflected form alisis ) and Spanish aliso in the same sense (a1343; also 976 in a Spanish place name) is uncertain and disputed. It has been suggested that they show a reflex of an unattested Gothic (Visigothic) word derived from the same base as the attested Germanic words. However, it has alternatively been suggested that the word may derive from Celtiberian (compare the Gaulish evidence) or from an even earlier substrate. See further J. Corominas Diccionario etimológico crítico castellano e hispánico (ed. 2, 1981) at aliso. History of forms in English. The Germanic words show a number of different formations (which are also of different grammatical gender), which may reflect an original formation of the (Indo-European) -es /-os type (compare discussion at rother n.). The English word usually continues a form without i-mutation; compare unmutated Germanic forms such as Middle Low German alre , aller , Old Icelandic alri . A rare Old High German by-form without i-mutation seems also to be attested, Old High German alar , but is of uncertain meaning and perhaps reflects a transmission error in glosses. A somewhat similar form, alerię , attested in a glossary in a 10th-cent. continental manuscript (Trier Stadtbibliothek 40), which contains some Old English glosses, is of uncertain interpretation and, if not a scribal error, is more likely to reflect an Old Saxon or Old High German formation than an Old English one. Old English alr , alor , which inflects as a strong masculine, probably partly continues a type which showed u in the second syllable in early Old English, explaining the apparent failure of fronting of West Germanic a in the stem vowel; compare the Old Icelandic form ǫlr , which has u-mutation in the stem vowel. However, in some varieties of Old English alr perhaps developed by retraction of early Old English æ before l (compare early Mercian alaer , aler ). The variant ælr- , which (apart from a dubious form aelres in a late copy of a charter) is attested only in compounds in charter bounds, may show i-mutation of alr- (compare Old English ælren- aldern adj. and the discussion at that entry). It has been suggested that the hundred name Foxer in Sussex (1086 (beside Folsalre ); 1183 as Foxerehelle ; now Foxearle) also shows a form of the word with i-mutation. Later forms with the apparent reflex of i-mutated vowel such as Middle English eller , English regional eller probably show the influence of early Scandinavian, especially in areas of the former Danelaw, or confusion with eller, variant form of elder n.¹ (see α. forms at that entry). Compare Old Icelandic elri and place names showing Scandinavian influence such as Elrebec , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086 (beside Alrebec ); now Ellerbeck), Elreton , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Ellerton Abbey), Elreburne , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086 (beside Elrebrune ); also Alrebrune (second half of 12th cent.); now Ellerburn). With early Middle English heller- compare β. forms at elder n.¹ Confusion with elder n.¹ is perhaps attested earliest for the derivative aldern adj. (see discussion at that entry). Forms of the word similar to the forms of elder n.¹ and perhaps showing the influence of that word are also evidenced among the β. forms; see elder at β. forms and compare quot. 1567 at sense 1a. Later α. forms show the development of a parasitic vowel in alr , (inflected) alr- , as already in Old English alor , surviving as e.g. British regional aller . With Middle English forms such as olrr, holir at α. forms compare discussion in R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) § 267 note 2. Forms with initial n- such as nalre at α. forms show metanalysis (see N n.). The β. forms apparently show development of an epenthetic dental consonant in inflected alr- , followed by the development of a parasitic vowel (in aldr- ). Compare the similar development of elder n.¹ The β. forms seem generally too late to be taken as showing the influence of Old English -dor , -dre , suffix forming names of trees (see discussion at maple tree n.). It is uncertain whether early Old English alter- in alterholt should be regarded as an unusually early attestation of a β. form or a transmission error. Metathesis of r occurs at more than one point in the history of this word; compare the Old High German cognate erla and later orl n. Metathesis is also attested in place names; compare the spelling of Old English (inflected) arlscagan , lit. ‘alder-shaw’ (see shaw n.¹), beside alrscagan, for a boundary marker in an Anglo-Saxon charter, and also Orletone, Herefordshire (1302 or earlier; earlier as Alretune (1086); now Orleton), Orleton, Worcestershire (1357; earlier as Alretune (1086); now Orleton). Occurrence in charter bounds and place names. The word occurs frequently in the bounds of Anglo-Saxon charters, both as a simplex and in compounds:OE Bounds (Sawyer 255) in D. Hooke Pre-Conquest Charter-bounds Devon & Cornwall (1994) 87 Of þam paðe sceaftrihte on alr suð ofer on hlypan.OE Bounds (Sawyer 201) in D. Hooke Worcs. Anglo-Saxon Charter-bounds (1990) 116 Ondlang anre ealdre dic westweard & norðweard þæt in ælrbroc, & seoððan a swa alrbroc ligeð upweard to Mossetena gemære.lOE Bounds (Sawyer 345) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 171 Upp on þone ibihttan alr; of þam ibihtan alre on scortan dic. The word also occurs early in place names; compare the following:eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 Þæs ymb iii wiecan com se cyning to him..æt Alre [i.e. Aller, in Somerset], & þæt is wiþ Ęþelinggaeige.

a. A European tree, Alnus glutinosa (family Betulaceae), common on riverbanks and damp woodland across the northern hemisphere, having rounded toothed leaves and bearing male catkins and woody female cones. Also: the pale red, decay-resistant timber of this tree, formerly used for construction in wet areas and in the making of gunpowder.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies

aldereOE

alderna1325

prick tree1551

black alder1578

aln1589

sporkenwood1599

alder1648

alder buckthorn?1742

orl1747

alder1755

arn1791

Turkey alder1822

Oregon alder1842

berry alder1863

tag alder1891

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > alder

aldereOE

eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 5 Alnus, alaer [eOE Erfurt Gloss. aler].

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. li. 266 Nim alres rinde, seoþ on wætre.

c1225 ( Ælfric Gloss. (Worcester) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 545 Alnus, olr [MS olrr].

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 2057 The names how the trees highte As ook Fyrre Birch Asp Alder [c1410 Harl. 7334 aldir, c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 Aldyr].

tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ix. l. 90 (MED) Signes mo men se Ther water is, as the fertilitee of withi, reed, aller.

c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxij/2 Graf it in a stoke of elme or aller.

1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 30 The Alder tree (which by corrupt and accustomed kinde of speaking they commonly call the Elder).

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 756 The blowinges of Alder are long tagglets.

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iv. x. 642 The aller or alder tree..doth serue..to lay the foundations of buildings vpon, which are laide in the riuers, fennes or other standing waters, because it neuer rotteth in the water, but lasteth as it were for euer.

a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 149 Cleared of the oullers and under~wood.

1665–76 J. Rea Flora (ed. 2) 18 A good quantity of short sticks of Oler, Withy, or any soft wood.

1713 L. Eusden Court of Venus in Guardian 6 Aug. And to the sighing Alder, Alders sigh.

1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 206 Willows, allers, and other brush-wood are grubbed up.

1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum III. civ. iii. 1682 The chief use of alder is as coppice-wood, to be cut down every five or six years, and made into charcoal for gunpowder manufacturers.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 172 Amid rushes tall Down in the bottom alders grew.

1905 Jrnl. Hort. & Home Farmer 14 Sept. 242/2 Water pipes are made from Alder and Chestnut, owing to their immunity from shrinking or warping.

1955 H. Nemerov Salt Garden i. 6 From the pale, yellow and peeled branches of willow And alder the globes of water grow and fall In ripenings of light.

2009 Daily Tel. 10 Sept. 21/3 We have been trying to stave off oak wilt, sudden oak death and some bug causing sooty buds in alders.

b. With distinguishing word. Any of various other trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus.green, Oregon, red, tag alder, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies

aldereOE

alderna1325

prick tree1551

black alder1578

aln1589

sporkenwood1599

alder1648

alder buckthorn?1742

orl1747

alder1755

arn1791

Turkey alder1822

Oregon alder1842

berry alder1863

tag alder1891

1755 A. Berthelson tr. E. Pontoppidan Nat. Hist. Norway i. 141 The alder-tree, is of two kinds; viz. the roedoor, or red alder, this is the most common, and the leaves of it are somewhat rough; and Svartoor, black alder.

1814 Ann. Philos. 3 350 The grey alder (alnus incana) stops considerably below the spruce fir, while in Lapland it is one of the last trees that yields to the severity of the climate.

1842 T. Nuttall N. Amer. Sylva I. 26 Oregon Alder... This tree, like the Common Alder of Europe, attains the height of 30 to 40 feet.

1892 Garden & Forest 2 Mar. 100/2 On the very first of February, which was a genial day, we found..tiny unopened pistillate flowers on our Japanese Alder.

1917 J. E. Rogers Trees Worth Knowing 92 The seaside alder shares with the witch hazel the peculiar distinction of bearing its flowers and ripening its fruit simultaneously in the fall of the year.

1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) 150/2 Common alder..will grow well on most normal sites, although less well on the poor dry ones on which Grey alder will flourish.

2009 S. A. Rice Green Planet 5 While standing under a seaside alder, I could look a few yards to one side and see a hazel alder, in exactly the same habitat conditions.

2. In full berry-bearing alder. The alder buckthorn, Frangula alnus. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies

aldereOE

alderna1325

prick tree1551

black alder1578

aln1589

sporkenwood1599

alder1648

alder buckthorn?1742

orl1747

alder1755

arn1791

Turkey alder1822

Oregon alder1842

berry alder1863

tag alder1891

1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Medici Oxoniensis Alder Tree with berries, Alnus nigra sive baccifera.

1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. 108 [Leaves] Green and larger; like those of Alder, but smoother, bearing a black berry, the inward bark being a violent purgative... Berry Bearing Alder.

1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Frangula Black Berry-bearing Alder. This Tree is very common in moist Woods in divers Parts of England, and is rarely cultivated in Gardens.

1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xvi. 212 Berry-bearing Alder..grows in woods, is a black looking shrub.

1828 E. H. Carrington Plymouth & Devonport Guide 109 Here and there is a berry-bearing alder, filled with the blossoms of the climbing woodbine.

1891 Homœopathic Physician May 201 The berries of this tree [sc. common buckthorn] have often been adulterated with alder berries, Rhamnus frangula, but are easily distinguished.

1904 E. Step Wayside & Woodland Trees 91 The Breaking Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) is also known as the Berry-bearing Alder, its leaves, with their lateral veins, presenting something of the appearance of the Alder.

3. Chiefly with distinguishing word. Any of various shrubs and trees of other genera and families which resemble the alder in some way, as leaf shape, growth habit, etc.; esp. (South African) any of several plants of the family Cunoniaceae.black, red, witch alder, etc.: see the first element.

ΚΠ

1793 C. R. Hopson tr. C. P. Thunberg Trav. II. 110 The Red alder (Roode Else, Cunonia capensis) is likewise very proper for making waggon-wheels.

1819 Western Rev. 1 229 Betula rupestris, Rock Birch,..has more the habit and appearance of an Alder than of a Birch, and is accordingly called Alder by the countrymen.

1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 316 Platylophus trifoliatus is called White Alder or Wit Els... The wood is white..and furnishes material for common furniture, drawers, boxes, and picture-frames.

1881 W. Flagg Year among Trees 173 After the flowers of the azalea have faded, we are attracted in like situations by a similar fragrance from the Clethra, or Spiked Alder.

1961 E. Palmer & N. Pitman Trees S. Afr. 192 The trees commonly known as alders in South Africa..belong to the family Cunoniaceae and are no relation to the alders of the north temperate zones.

2003 Houston (Texas) Chron. (Nexis) 14 June (Houston section) 1 Turnera, or yellow alder, is another exceptionally easy perennial. The bright yellow blooms are showy against the dark green foliage.

4. Chiefly Angling. = alderfly n. at Compounds 2. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > division Endopterygota or Metabola (winged) > [noun] > order Neuroptera > suborder Megaloptera > family Sianidae > sialis lutarius (alder-fly)

miller1668

yellow miller1760

alderfly1766

alder1856

orl1875

1856 C. Kingsley Glaucus (ed. 3) 156 The water-crickets..change into..the dark chocolate ‘Alder’ (Sialis lutaria).

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 447/2 Among the flies which are general favourites with dry-fly fishers are the..alder..and the May-fly.

1928 Daily Express 11 Aug. 4/2 On Dartmoor streams..I found a small alder and a black gnat as effective as anything.

Compounds

C1.

a. Instrumental.

alder-fringed adj.

ΚΠ

1764 M. Darwall Orig. Poems 69 See, the lowing Herds retreat..To some Alder-fringed Stream.

1854 J. D. Hooker Himalayan Jrnls. II. 21 Alder-fringed banks.

1996 J. Schad 101 Hikes in Southern Calif. (2005) xxv. 79 A rough pathway leads down off the trail to the alder-fringed pool below.

† alder-margined adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1844 Southern Literary Messenger 10 619/1 And down the alder-margined lane The throstle sings.

1854 A. Baskerville Poetry of Germany 140 The mountain's flowery vest, The alder-margined stream, the rush-crowned lake.

alder-skirted adj. now rare.

ΚΠ

1818 Mrs. J. Cobbold Holy Wells in J. Ford Suffolk Garland 56 Yet pure and bright the living rill Rolls down the alder-skirted hill, And fancy loves to linger here.

1858 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters (new ed.) 164 The dark hills and alder-skirted river of Strathcarron.

1909 W. L. Calderwood Salmon Rivers Scotl. xii. 161 The little alder-skirted river rises to the west.

b. General attributive.

alder branch n.

ΚΠ

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. iv. 72/1 The Flower is a white blossom, which after groweth to a small black berry, and they grow many together upon foot-stalks to a larger stalk, and it to the Alder-branch.

1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. III. xxiii. 142 A drain was discovered under it filled with alder branches.

1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 305 When I strolled around the pond in misty weather I was sometimes amused by the primitive mode which some ruder fisherman had adopted. He would perhaps have placed alder branches over the narrow holes in the ice.

2010 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 13 Nov. g1 His spare design of the senator's bedroom and writing room brings in amaryllis flowers, and willow and alder branches.

alder brake n.

ΚΠ

1832 Sporting Mag. Nov. 78 There are a good many small alder brakes.

1970 Great Alaska Earthquake 1964: Human Ecol. (National Res. Council (U.S.) Comm. on Alaska Earthquake) iv. 363/1 The men moved on, Max and Roger helping Victor, Walter following in his bare feet through alder brakes and similar rough country.

2008 P. Nienhuis Environmental Hist. of Rhine-Meuse Delta ii. 21 Brook valleys were overgrown with alder-brake and willows.

alder bush n.

ΚΠ

1772 L. Carter Diary 29 Apr. (1965) II. 675 The soil..stiff, it having been originally a Gum and alderbush swamp.

1862 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 740 A little pool shadowed..by alder-bushes.

1916 Z. Grey Border Legion iii. 31 She rested, leaning back in the shade of an alder-bush.

1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley xxii. 291 The wind was working among the alder bushes and the willows.

1987 C. Shields in West Coast Rev. Fall 8 Between the red-stemmed alder bushes and Indian paintbrush, wild carrot, toddflax,..and stands of rare turtlehead lie thousands of newly-nested blisterlily bulbs.

alder pile n.

ΚΠ

1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ II. at Pālātio A foundation made in a wet ground by driving in alder piles.

1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 62 Alder-wood, if kept constantly under water, is almost imperishable... It is said that on Alder-piles the beautiful arch of the famous Rialto of Venice is supported.

2008 J. Eastoe Hedgerow & Wildlife 25 Beech and alder piles were found beneath Waterloo Bridge, London.

alder tree n. [compare Middle English alloren tree , alryn tre (see aldern adj.)]

ΚΠ

?a1300 Gloss. Tree- & Bird-names in M. R. James Catal. MSS St. John's Coll., Cambr. (1913) 155 Aune, Hellertre.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 9 Aldyr tre [?a1475 Winch. Aleyre tre], or oryelle tre, alnus.

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. A.vij Alnus is called..in Englishe an alder tree or an aller tree.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 282 They tooke downe through a groue of Alder trees.

1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds III. 71 These Birds..visit our Parts in the Winter-time, and leave us in the Spring; they frequent the Alder Trees, &c. By the River side.

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. iii. 42 The ground was broken with tufts of rush, and flag, and marestail, and a few rough alder-trees overclogged with water.

1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 314 The only alder tree which is commonly found in the northern states is Alnus glutinosa, a European species which is fairly naturalized.

2003 Nature Conservancy Winter 47/1 Redpolls forage on catkins of birch and alder trees.

C2.

alder carr n. [ < alder n.¹ + carr n.²; compare Alrecher, East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Ellerker), Allerker, Derbyshire (1335; now Aldercar Hall)] a piece of wet ground where alders grow.

ΚΠ

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 9 Aldyrkyr [1499 Pynson alderkar, a1500 King's Cambr. alderkerre], alnetum, viz. locus ubi alni et tales arbores crescunt.

1534–5 in L. E. Beedham Ruined & Deserted Churches (1908) vi. 66 All that hys personage of Flyxton aforesaid..with the glebe, medows, Fyshings, aldercars, waters, etc.

a1754 J. Strange Rep. Cases (1755) 2 1063 An ejectment was brought for lands in Norfolk, and inter alia for five acres for Alder Carr.

1801 Ann. Agric. 37 184 Here are also ten fenced plantations of oak and one of fir, besides the aldercars which supply the wants of the manor and other farms.

1974 W. Condry Woodlands ix. 100 Characteristic Fen vegetation, dominated by alders, disappeared from wide areas. To-day small patches of alder carr..survive here and there.

2008 S. Rippon Beyond Medieval Village iv. 109 These woodlands were also largely cleared..apart from small patches of alder carr in some of the wetter valley bottoms.

alderfly n. any of various flying insects constituting the genus Sialis (family Sialidae, order Megaloptera), having aquatic larvae and adults that have brownish wings and are frequently used as fishing bait.

ΘΚΠ

miller1668

yellow miller1760

alderfly1766

alder1856

orl1875

1766 R. Brookes Art of Angling (new ed.) 76 Alder-fly..Taken chiefly in a Morning before the Green-drake comes upon the Water.

1875 W. Houghton Sketches Brit. Insects 64 The well-known orl or Alder-fly (Sialis lutarius).

1958 H. B. Mills Cent. Biol. Res. (Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv.) (1977) 140/2 Megaloptera.—These, the alderflies and dobsonflies, were collected during the aquatic work on stoneflies and caddisflies.

2010 New Scientist 6 Feb. 65/2 The insect is a dobsonfly and part of the Megaloptera order, which also includes the alderflies and fish flies.

alder wood n. (a) the timber of the alder tree; (b) a wood consisting of alder trees.

ΚΠ

1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) xxxi. 194 Coal for the Powder Mills is made of Alder-wood.

1802 J. Britton & E. W. Brayley Beauties Eng. & Wales III. 138 Geltsdale Forest is a considerable tract of mountainous land..; but in the lower parts are some extensive birch and alder woods.

1838 M. Faraday in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 128 7 The moveable ball used to take and measure the portion of electricity under examination..was of soft alder wood, well and smoothly gilt.

1948 R. Graves Coll. Poems 1914–1947 225 Through a thick-growing alder-wood We clearly see, but are not seen.

2009 New Yorker 2 Feb. 16/2 The restaurant's lines are both modern and rustic—sleek teardrop light fixtures appeal to the urbanite, alder-wood branches in the window to the ruralist.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† aldern.²

Forms: Old English æalder (in compounds), Old English aldr- (inflected form), Old English aldur (Anglian), Old English ealdar (rare), Old English ealde (transmission error), Old English ealdur (rare), Old English ealldor (rare), Old English ealldr- (inflected form, rare), Old English–early Middle English aldor, Old English–early Middle English ealder, Old English–early Middle English ealdor, Old English–early Middle English ealdr- (inflected form), late Old English eældor (in compounds), late Old English eældr- (inflected form), late Old English ealdre- (in compounds), late Old English–early Middle English eldr- (inflected form), late Old English healdor (in compounds), late Old English–Middle English alder, early Middle English ælder (south-west midlands), early Middle English ældere (south-west midlands), early Middle English ældr- (south-west midlands, inflected form), early Middle English aldere, early Middle English aldre, late Middle English haldur (north-west midlands).

Origin: Apparently a word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Apparently cognate with Old Frisian alder parent (see note), probably < the Germanic base of Old English alan to nourish (see old adj.) + a suffix ultimately < the same Indo-European base as classical Latin -tōr- , -tor , suffix forming agent nouns (see -or suffix; compare (with different forms of the suffix) Early Irish altru foster-father, Welsh alltraw godfather, athro teacher, and classical Latin altor nourisher), or alternatively perhaps < the Germanic base of old adj. + a Germanic suffix forming nouns (see note). Compare elder n.³Cognates. Old Frisian alder has also been interpreted as a use as noun of the comparative of Old Frisian ald old adj., which would make it more directly comparable to elder n.³ Unlike the comparative of the adjective, however, it does not show variants with initial e due to i-mutation. Compare the discussion of Old Frisian aldermon at ealdorman n. If the English word is in fact derived from the same Germanic base as old adj., the suffix in question is perhaps ultimately the same as the Germanic base of the comparative suffix (-er suffix³), which would make the word an etymological doublet of elder n.³ with a different ablaut grade of the suffix (the two words are in any case ultimately derived from the same Indo-European base). However, the suffix of Old English bealdor lord, ruler, prince (see Balder n.) has also been compared. History in English. In Old English, the word usually inflects as a strong masculine (occasionally used with a feminine article to reflect natural gender; compare variant reading in quot. OE² at sense 2). Weak masculine forms also occasionally occur. The forms of the word are in most cases clearly distinct from the forms of elder n.³ (the comparative of old adj. used as noun), as the latter shows i-mutation of the stem vowel and is always inflected as a weak masculine in Old English (West Saxon ieldra , yldra , Anglian ældra ). Moreover, the word occurs more frequently in sense 2 in Old English than in sense 1, while elder n.³ is more frequent in sense ‘parent, ancestor’ (see elder n.³ 1). Late Old English and early Middle English forms such as (plural) eldres may show confusion of the two words or merely hesitation over the spelling of the stem vowel after monophthongization of ea . Compare also quot. c1175 at sense 1, where the earlier manuscript shows elder n.³ In Middle English the stem vowel of both words regularly appears as a in the west midland dialect (in the Caligula manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut as a or æ ), but attestations of the form alder in sense ‘parent, ancestor, elder’ probably show elder n.³ rather than continuing sense 1 of alder n.² In the Otho manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut, other words are frequently substituted for the word in sense 2, with which the scribe may not have been familiar (compare quot. c1275¹ at sense 2); this suggests that in cases like quot. c1275² at sense 2 the forms eldere , eldre in the Otho manuscript in fact represent forms of elder n.³, substituted by the scribe for alder n.²

Obsolete.

1. A parent; an ancestor, a forefather.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun]

elder-fathereOE

fatherOE

elder971

alderOE

eldfatherOE

forme-fadera1200

ancestorc1300

grandsirec1300

aiela1325

belsirea1325

predecessora1325

forefather1377

morea1382

progenitorc1384

antecessorc1400

forn-fatherc1460

forebear1488

ancient1540

antecestrec1550

fore-grandsirec1550

grandfather1575

ascendant1604

forerunnera1616

ancienter1654

tupuna1845

OE Genesis A (1931) 1578 Þa com ærest Cam in siðian, eafora Noes, þær his aldor læg.

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Otho) v. Concl. 480 Þas þing by stære Ongelþiode cirican on Brytene, swa swa geo of manna gewritum oððe of ealdra gesegene [L. ex traditione maiorum]..ic gewitan mihte.

c1175 ( Nativity of Virgin (Bodl.) in B. Assmann Angelsächsische Homilien u. Heiligenleben (1889) 125 Heo..ne æfter hire ealdre [OE Hatton yldrum] ne rymde, swa swa childes gewunæ wæs.

2. The head of a family or clan; a chief, a prince, a ruler.In Old English also rendering a number of Latin military and religious titles, esp. princeps princeps n.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun]

alderOE

patriarchc1200

prince?c1225

chief1587

top1615

chieftain1837

OE Beowulf (2008) 346 Wille ic asecgan..mærum þeodne min ærende, aldre þinum.

OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xxxviii. 62 Butan hit þæt sy, þæt se ealder [a1225 Winteney seo ealdor; L. prior] hwæt scortlice of þære rædinge to hyra gastlican getimbrunge gereccan wille.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 1 Ða worhton ealle þæra sacerda ealdras [L. principes sacerdotum] gemot & þæs folces ealdras ongen þone hælend.

a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 219 Hi [sc. the fallen angels] wolde mid modinesse beon betere þonne he ȝesceapen were, and cweð hare alder þat he mihte beon þam ælmihti god ȝelic.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11695 Frolle..ældere [c1300 Otho king] wes of France.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1559 Aganippes wes ihaten; hæleðen he wes ældere [c1300 Otho eldere].

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 95 A vncouþe tale..Of alderes, of armes, of oþer auenturus.

c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 7 Of duȝti men and of dere, Of haldurs þat before vs were.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	alder
释义	aldern.¹ Brit. /ˈɔːldə/, /ˈɒldə/, U.S. /ˈɔldər/, /ˈɑldər/ Forms: α. early Old English alaer, Old English alrr (rare), Old English (early Middle English in copy of Old English charter) ælr- (in compounds), Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter, in compounds) aler, Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter, in compounds) alor, Old English (Middle English in copy of Old English charter) alr, late Old English (early Middle English in copy of Old English charter) alar- (in compounds), early Middle English heller- (in compounds), early Middle English olrr, Middle English aelres (plural, in copy of Old English charter), Middle English aleyr, Middle English aleyre, Middle English alre, Middle English holir, Middle English nalre, Middle English–1700s aller, Middle English–1700s eller, late Middle English ellyr, late Middle English nellyr- (in compounds), 1500s owler, 1600s oller, 1600s ouller, 1600s–1700s allar, 1600s–1700s oler; English regional 1800s– aller, 1800s– ellar (northern), 1800s– eller (chiefly northern), 1800s– oler (northern and midlands), 1800s– oller (northern and midlands), 1800s– owler (northern and midlands); Scottish pre-1700 allour, pre-1700 1700s–1800s allar, pre-1700 1700s– aller, 1700s ouler, 1700s owler, 1800s aar (western), 1800s eller (western). β. early Old English alter, Middle English aldir, Middle English aldre, Middle English aldur, Middle English aldyr, Middle English althir, Middle English haldrys (plural), Middle English– alder, 1500s allder, 1500s–1600s (1900s– Irish English (northern)) elder. See also orl n. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian erl , ierl (implied in the derived adjective erlen , ierlen aldern adj.), Old Saxon elira , aeleri (Middle Low German elre , alre , aller ), Old High German elira , elera , elre , (with metathesis) erila , erla (Middle High German elre , eller , (with metathesis) erile , erel , erl , erle , German Erle , (now rare or regional) Eller ), Old Icelandic elri , alri , neuter, elrir , ǫlr , masculine, Danish el , Old Swedish al (Swedish al ), and ( < the same Germanic base without the operation of Verner's Law) Old Dutch elis (in place names; Middle Dutch else , Dutch els ), Old Saxon els (in a late source; Middle Low German else ), and (perhaps < Middle Low German) German Else , probably < the same Indo-European base as (with various ablaut grades) Old Russian ol′xa (Russian ol′xa ), el′xa , Serbian and Croatian (regional) jeha , Polish olcha , (with a different suffix) Slovak jelša , and probably Gaulish alisia (e.g. in Alisiia , the name of Alesia, a Gaulish tribal capital (now Alise-Ste-Reine, Burgundy), and also in river names); also (with different suffixes) classical Latin alnus aln n., (additionally with insertion of -k-), Old Prussian alskande or aliskande (attested as abskande, which apparently reflects a scribal error), Lithuanian alksnis, (regional) elksnis, etc.Indo-European base and possible cognates. The Indo-European base probably is originally a colour term meaning ‘reddish-brown’, originally referring to the reddish colour of cut alder wood. Compare Middle Dutch elu yellow, pale, Old High German elo yellow, brownish-yellow, greyish-yellow (Middle High German el , German regional (southern) elw , elb ). For a tree name probably also ultimately derived from this Indo-European colour term, compare elm n. (Alternatively, an origin in a non-Indo-European substrate language has been suggested (perhaps compare Basque haltza , altza ), for which see T. Vennemann in Interdisciplinary Jrnl. Germanic Linguistics 1 (1996) 113–45.) The origin of post-classical Latin alisa alder (947 in an isolated attestation in a Spanish source in inflected form alisis ) and Spanish aliso in the same sense (a1343; also 976 in a Spanish place name) is uncertain and disputed. It has been suggested that they show a reflex of an unattested Gothic (Visigothic) word derived from the same base as the attested Germanic words. However, it has alternatively been suggested that the word may derive from Celtiberian (compare the Gaulish evidence) or from an even earlier substrate. See further J. Corominas Diccionario etimológico crítico castellano e hispánico (ed. 2, 1981) at aliso. History of forms in English. The Germanic words show a number of different formations (which are also of different grammatical gender), which may reflect an original formation of the (Indo-European) -es /-os type (compare discussion at rother n.). The English word usually continues a form without i-mutation; compare unmutated Germanic forms such as Middle Low German alre , aller , Old Icelandic alri . A rare Old High German by-form without i-mutation seems also to be attested, Old High German alar , but is of uncertain meaning and perhaps reflects a transmission error in glosses. A somewhat similar form, alerię , attested in a glossary in a 10th-cent. continental manuscript (Trier Stadtbibliothek 40), which contains some Old English glosses, is of uncertain interpretation and, if not a scribal error, is more likely to reflect an Old Saxon or Old High German formation than an Old English one. Old English alr , alor , which inflects as a strong masculine, probably partly continues a type which showed u in the second syllable in early Old English, explaining the apparent failure of fronting of West Germanic a in the stem vowel; compare the Old Icelandic form ǫlr , which has u-mutation in the stem vowel. However, in some varieties of Old English alr perhaps developed by retraction of early Old English æ before l (compare early Mercian alaer , aler ). The variant ælr- , which (apart from a dubious form aelres in a late copy of a charter) is attested only in compounds in charter bounds, may show i-mutation of alr- (compare Old English ælren- aldern adj. and the discussion at that entry). It has been suggested that the hundred name Foxer in Sussex (1086 (beside Folsalre ); 1183 as Foxerehelle ; now Foxearle) also shows a form of the word with i-mutation. Later forms with the apparent reflex of i-mutated vowel such as Middle English eller , English regional eller probably show the influence of early Scandinavian, especially in areas of the former Danelaw, or confusion with eller, variant form of elder n.¹ (see α. forms at that entry). Compare Old Icelandic elri and place names showing Scandinavian influence such as Elrebec , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086 (beside Alrebec ); now Ellerbeck), Elreton , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Ellerton Abbey), Elreburne , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086 (beside Elrebrune ); also Alrebrune (second half of 12th cent.); now Ellerburn). With early Middle English heller- compare β. forms at elder n.¹ Confusion with elder n.¹ is perhaps attested earliest for the derivative aldern adj. (see discussion at that entry). Forms of the word similar to the forms of elder n.¹ and perhaps showing the influence of that word are also evidenced among the β. forms; see elder at β. forms and compare quot. 1567 at sense 1a. Later α. forms show the development of a parasitic vowel in alr , (inflected) alr- , as already in Old English alor , surviving as e.g. British regional aller . With Middle English forms such as olrr, holir at α. forms compare discussion in R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) § 267 note 2. Forms with initial n- such as nalre at α. forms show metanalysis (see N n.). The β. forms apparently show development of an epenthetic dental consonant in inflected alr- , followed by the development of a parasitic vowel (in aldr- ). Compare the similar development of elder n.¹ The β. forms seem generally too late to be taken as showing the influence of Old English -dor , -dre , suffix forming names of trees (see discussion at maple tree n.). It is uncertain whether early Old English alter- in alterholt should be regarded as an unusually early attestation of a β. form or a transmission error. Metathesis of r occurs at more than one point in the history of this word; compare the Old High German cognate erla and later orl n. Metathesis is also attested in place names; compare the spelling of Old English (inflected) arlscagan , lit. ‘alder-shaw’ (see shaw n.¹), beside alrscagan, for a boundary marker in an Anglo-Saxon charter, and also Orletone, Herefordshire (1302 or earlier; earlier as Alretune (1086); now Orleton), Orleton, Worcestershire (1357; earlier as Alretune (1086); now Orleton). Occurrence in charter bounds and place names. The word occurs frequently in the bounds of Anglo-Saxon charters, both as a simplex and in compounds:OE Bounds (Sawyer 255) in D. Hooke Pre-Conquest Charter-bounds Devon & Cornwall (1994) 87 Of þam paðe sceaftrihte on alr suð ofer on hlypan.OE Bounds (Sawyer 201) in D. Hooke Worcs. Anglo-Saxon Charter-bounds (1990) 116 Ondlang anre ealdre dic westweard & norðweard þæt in ælrbroc, & seoððan a swa alrbroc ligeð upweard to Mossetena gemære.lOE Bounds (Sawyer 345) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 171 Upp on þone ibihttan alr; of þam ibihtan alre on scortan dic. The word also occurs early in place names; compare the following:eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 Þæs ymb iii wiecan com se cyning to him..æt Alre [i.e. Aller, in Somerset], & þæt is wiþ Ęþelinggaeige. 1. a. A European tree, Alnus glutinosa (family Betulaceae), common on riverbanks and damp woodland across the northern hemisphere, having rounded toothed leaves and bearing male catkins and woody female cones. Also: the pale red, decay-resistant timber of this tree, formerly used for construction in wet areas and in the making of gunpowder. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies aldereOE alderna1325 prick tree1551 black alder1578 aln1589 sporkenwood1599 alder1648 alder buckthorn?1742 orl1747 alder1755 arn1791 Turkey alder1822 Oregon alder1842 berry alder1863 tag alder1891 society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > alder aldereOE eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 5 Alnus, alaer [eOE Erfurt Gloss. aler]. eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. li. 266 Nim alres rinde, seoþ on wætre. c1225 ( Ælfric Gloss. (Worcester) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 545 Alnus, olr [MS olrr]. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 2057 The names how the trees highte As ook Fyrre Birch Asp Alder [c1410 Harl. 7334 aldir, c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 Aldyr]. tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ix. l. 90 (MED) Signes mo men se Ther water is, as the fertilitee of withi, reed, aller. c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxij/2 Graf it in a stoke of elme or aller. 1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 30 The Alder tree (which by corrupt and accustomed kinde of speaking they commonly call the Elder). 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 756 The blowinges of Alder are long tagglets. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iv. x. 642 The aller or alder tree..doth serue..to lay the foundations of buildings vpon, which are laide in the riuers, fennes or other standing waters, because it neuer rotteth in the water, but lasteth as it were for euer. a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 149 Cleared of the oullers and under~wood. 1665–76 J. Rea Flora (ed. 2) 18 A good quantity of short sticks of Oler, Withy, or any soft wood. 1713 L. Eusden Court of Venus in Guardian 6 Aug. And to the sighing Alder, Alders sigh. 1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 206 Willows, allers, and other brush-wood are grubbed up. 1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum III. civ. iii. 1682 The chief use of alder is as coppice-wood, to be cut down every five or six years, and made into charcoal for gunpowder manufacturers. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 172 Amid rushes tall Down in the bottom alders grew. 1905 Jrnl. Hort. & Home Farmer 14 Sept. 242/2 Water pipes are made from Alder and Chestnut, owing to their immunity from shrinking or warping. 1955 H. Nemerov Salt Garden i. 6 From the pale, yellow and peeled branches of willow And alder the globes of water grow and fall In ripenings of light. 2009 Daily Tel. 10 Sept. 21/3 We have been trying to stave off oak wilt, sudden oak death and some bug causing sooty buds in alders. b. With distinguishing word. Any of various other trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus.green, Oregon, red, tag alder, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies aldereOE alderna1325 prick tree1551 black alder1578 aln1589 sporkenwood1599 alder1648 alder buckthorn?1742 orl1747 alder1755 arn1791 Turkey alder1822 Oregon alder1842 berry alder1863 tag alder1891 1755 A. Berthelson tr. E. Pontoppidan Nat. Hist. Norway i. 141 The alder-tree, is of two kinds; viz. the roedoor, or red alder, this is the most common, and the leaves of it are somewhat rough; and Svartoor, black alder. 1814 Ann. Philos. 3 350 The grey alder (alnus incana) stops considerably below the spruce fir, while in Lapland it is one of the last trees that yields to the severity of the climate. 1842 T. Nuttall N. Amer. Sylva I. 26 Oregon Alder... This tree, like the Common Alder of Europe, attains the height of 30 to 40 feet. 1892 Garden & Forest 2 Mar. 100/2 On the very first of February, which was a genial day, we found..tiny unopened pistillate flowers on our Japanese Alder. 1917 J. E. Rogers Trees Worth Knowing 92 The seaside alder shares with the witch hazel the peculiar distinction of bearing its flowers and ripening its fruit simultaneously in the fall of the year. 1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) 150/2 Common alder..will grow well on most normal sites, although less well on the poor dry ones on which Grey alder will flourish. 2009 S. A. Rice Green Planet 5 While standing under a seaside alder, I could look a few yards to one side and see a hazel alder, in exactly the same habitat conditions. 2. In full berry-bearing alder. The alder buckthorn, Frangula alnus. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies aldereOE alderna1325 prick tree1551 black alder1578 aln1589 sporkenwood1599 alder1648 alder buckthorn?1742 orl1747 alder1755 arn1791 Turkey alder1822 Oregon alder1842 berry alder1863 tag alder1891 1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Medici Oxoniensis Alder Tree with berries, Alnus nigra sive baccifera. 1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. 108 [Leaves] Green and larger; like those of Alder, but smoother, bearing a black berry, the inward bark being a violent purgative... Berry Bearing Alder. 1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Frangula Black Berry-bearing Alder. This Tree is very common in moist Woods in divers Parts of England, and is rarely cultivated in Gardens. 1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xvi. 212 Berry-bearing Alder..grows in woods, is a black looking shrub. 1828 E. H. Carrington Plymouth & Devonport Guide 109 Here and there is a berry-bearing alder, filled with the blossoms of the climbing woodbine. 1891 Homœopathic Physician May 201 The berries of this tree [sc. common buckthorn] have often been adulterated with alder berries, Rhamnus frangula, but are easily distinguished. 1904 E. Step Wayside & Woodland Trees 91 The Breaking Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) is also known as the Berry-bearing Alder, its leaves, with their lateral veins, presenting something of the appearance of the Alder. 3. Chiefly with distinguishing word. Any of various shrubs and trees of other genera and families which resemble the alder in some way, as leaf shape, growth habit, etc.; esp. (South African) any of several plants of the family Cunoniaceae.black, red, witch alder, etc.: see the first element. ΚΠ 1793 C. R. Hopson tr. C. P. Thunberg Trav. II. 110 The Red alder (Roode Else, Cunonia capensis) is likewise very proper for making waggon-wheels. 1819 Western Rev. 1 229 Betula rupestris, Rock Birch,..has more the habit and appearance of an Alder than of a Birch, and is accordingly called Alder by the countrymen. 1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 316 Platylophus trifoliatus is called White Alder or Wit Els... The wood is white..and furnishes material for common furniture, drawers, boxes, and picture-frames. 1881 W. Flagg Year among Trees 173 After the flowers of the azalea have faded, we are attracted in like situations by a similar fragrance from the Clethra, or Spiked Alder. 1961 E. Palmer & N. Pitman Trees S. Afr. 192 The trees commonly known as alders in South Africa..belong to the family Cunoniaceae and are no relation to the alders of the north temperate zones. 2003 Houston (Texas) Chron. (Nexis) 14 June (Houston section) 1 Turnera, or yellow alder, is another exceptionally easy perennial. The bright yellow blooms are showy against the dark green foliage. 4. Chiefly Angling. = alderfly n. at Compounds 2. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > division Endopterygota or Metabola (winged) > [noun] > order Neuroptera > suborder Megaloptera > family Sianidae > sialis lutarius (alder-fly) miller1668 yellow miller1760 alderfly1766 alder1856 orl1875 1856 C. Kingsley Glaucus (ed. 3) 156 The water-crickets..change into..the dark chocolate ‘Alder’ (Sialis lutaria). 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 447/2 Among the flies which are general favourites with dry-fly fishers are the..alder..and the May-fly. 1928 Daily Express 11 Aug. 4/2 On Dartmoor streams..I found a small alder and a black gnat as effective as anything. Compounds C1. a. Instrumental. alder-fringed adj. ΚΠ 1764 M. Darwall Orig. Poems 69 See, the lowing Herds retreat..To some Alder-fringed Stream. 1854 J. D. Hooker Himalayan Jrnls. II. 21 Alder-fringed banks. 1996 J. Schad 101 Hikes in Southern Calif. (2005) xxv. 79 A rough pathway leads down off the trail to the alder-fringed pool below. † alder-margined adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1844 Southern Literary Messenger 10 619/1 And down the alder-margined lane The throstle sings. 1854 A. Baskerville Poetry of Germany 140 The mountain's flowery vest, The alder-margined stream, the rush-crowned lake. alder-skirted adj. now rare. ΚΠ 1818 Mrs. J. Cobbold Holy Wells in J. Ford Suffolk Garland 56 Yet pure and bright the living rill Rolls down the alder-skirted hill, And fancy loves to linger here. 1858 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters (new ed.) 164 The dark hills and alder-skirted river of Strathcarron. 1909 W. L. Calderwood Salmon Rivers Scotl. xii. 161 The little alder-skirted river rises to the west. b. General attributive. alder branch n. ΚΠ 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. iv. 72/1 The Flower is a white blossom, which after groweth to a small black berry, and they grow many together upon foot-stalks to a larger stalk, and it to the Alder-branch. 1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. III. xxiii. 142 A drain was discovered under it filled with alder branches. 1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 305 When I strolled around the pond in misty weather I was sometimes amused by the primitive mode which some ruder fisherman had adopted. He would perhaps have placed alder branches over the narrow holes in the ice. 2010 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 13 Nov. g1 His spare design of the senator's bedroom and writing room brings in amaryllis flowers, and willow and alder branches. alder brake n. ΚΠ 1832 Sporting Mag. Nov. 78 There are a good many small alder brakes. 1970 Great Alaska Earthquake 1964: Human Ecol. (National Res. Council (U.S.) Comm. on Alaska Earthquake) iv. 363/1 The men moved on, Max and Roger helping Victor, Walter following in his bare feet through alder brakes and similar rough country. 2008 P. Nienhuis Environmental Hist. of Rhine-Meuse Delta ii. 21 Brook valleys were overgrown with alder-brake and willows. alder bush n. ΚΠ 1772 L. Carter Diary 29 Apr. (1965) II. 675 The soil..stiff, it having been originally a Gum and alderbush swamp. 1862 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 740 A little pool shadowed..by alder-bushes. 1916 Z. Grey Border Legion iii. 31 She rested, leaning back in the shade of an alder-bush. 1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley xxii. 291 The wind was working among the alder bushes and the willows. 1987 C. Shields in West Coast Rev. Fall 8 Between the red-stemmed alder bushes and Indian paintbrush, wild carrot, toddflax,..and stands of rare turtlehead lie thousands of newly-nested blisterlily bulbs. alder pile n. ΚΠ 1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ II. at Pālātio A foundation made in a wet ground by driving in alder piles. 1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 62 Alder-wood, if kept constantly under water, is almost imperishable... It is said that on Alder-piles the beautiful arch of the famous Rialto of Venice is supported. 2008 J. Eastoe Hedgerow & Wildlife 25 Beech and alder piles were found beneath Waterloo Bridge, London. alder tree n. [compare Middle English alloren tree , alryn tre (see aldern adj.)] ΚΠ ?a1300 Gloss. Tree- & Bird-names in M. R. James Catal. MSS St. John's Coll., Cambr. (1913) 155 Aune, Hellertre. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 9 Aldyr tre [?a1475 Winch. Aleyre tre], or oryelle tre, alnus. 1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. A.vij Alnus is called..in Englishe an alder tree or an aller tree. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 282 They tooke downe through a groue of Alder trees. 1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds III. 71 These Birds..visit our Parts in the Winter-time, and leave us in the Spring; they frequent the Alder Trees, &c. By the River side. 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. iii. 42 The ground was broken with tufts of rush, and flag, and marestail, and a few rough alder-trees overclogged with water. 1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 314 The only alder tree which is commonly found in the northern states is Alnus glutinosa, a European species which is fairly naturalized. 2003 Nature Conservancy Winter 47/1 Redpolls forage on catkins of birch and alder trees. C2. alder carr n. [ < alder n.¹ + carr n.²; compare Alrecher, East Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Ellerker), Allerker, Derbyshire (1335; now Aldercar Hall)] a piece of wet ground where alders grow. ΚΠ Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 9 Aldyrkyr [1499 Pynson alderkar, a1500 King's Cambr. alderkerre], alnetum, viz. locus ubi alni et tales arbores crescunt. 1534–5 in L. E. Beedham Ruined & Deserted Churches (1908) vi. 66 All that hys personage of Flyxton aforesaid..with the glebe, medows, Fyshings, aldercars, waters, etc. a1754 J. Strange Rep. Cases (1755) 2 1063 An ejectment was brought for lands in Norfolk, and inter alia for five acres for Alder Carr. 1801 Ann. Agric. 37 184 Here are also ten fenced plantations of oak and one of fir, besides the aldercars which supply the wants of the manor and other farms. 1974 W. Condry Woodlands ix. 100 Characteristic Fen vegetation, dominated by alders, disappeared from wide areas. To-day small patches of alder carr..survive here and there. 2008 S. Rippon Beyond Medieval Village iv. 109 These woodlands were also largely cleared..apart from small patches of alder carr in some of the wetter valley bottoms. alderfly n. any of various flying insects constituting the genus Sialis (family Sialidae, order Megaloptera), having aquatic larvae and adults that have brownish wings and are frequently used as fishing bait. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > division Endopterygota or Metabola (winged) > [noun] > order Neuroptera > suborder Megaloptera > family Sianidae > sialis lutarius (alder-fly) miller1668 yellow miller1760 alderfly1766 alder1856 orl1875 1766 R. Brookes Art of Angling (new ed.) 76 Alder-fly..Taken chiefly in a Morning before the Green-drake comes upon the Water. 1875 W. Houghton Sketches Brit. Insects 64 The well-known orl or Alder-fly (Sialis lutarius). 1958 H. B. Mills Cent. Biol. Res. (Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv.) (1977) 140/2 Megaloptera.—These, the alderflies and dobsonflies, were collected during the aquatic work on stoneflies and caddisflies. 2010 New Scientist 6 Feb. 65/2 The insect is a dobsonfly and part of the Megaloptera order, which also includes the alderflies and fish flies. alder wood n. (a) the timber of the alder tree; (b) a wood consisting of alder trees. ΚΠ 1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) xxxi. 194 Coal for the Powder Mills is made of Alder-wood. 1802 J. Britton & E. W. Brayley Beauties Eng. & Wales III. 138 Geltsdale Forest is a considerable tract of mountainous land..; but in the lower parts are some extensive birch and alder woods. 1838 M. Faraday in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 128 7 The moveable ball used to take and measure the portion of electricity under examination..was of soft alder wood, well and smoothly gilt. 1948 R. Graves Coll. Poems 1914–1947 225 Through a thick-growing alder-wood We clearly see, but are not seen. 2009 New Yorker 2 Feb. 16/2 The restaurant's lines are both modern and rustic—sleek teardrop light fixtures appeal to the urbanite, alder-wood branches in the window to the ruralist. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † aldern.² Forms: Old English æalder (in compounds), Old English aldr- (inflected form), Old English aldur (Anglian), Old English ealdar (rare), Old English ealde (transmission error), Old English ealdur (rare), Old English ealldor (rare), Old English ealldr- (inflected form, rare), Old English–early Middle English aldor, Old English–early Middle English ealder, Old English–early Middle English ealdor, Old English–early Middle English ealdr- (inflected form), late Old English eældor (in compounds), late Old English eældr- (inflected form), late Old English ealdre- (in compounds), late Old English–early Middle English eldr- (inflected form), late Old English healdor (in compounds), late Old English–Middle English alder, early Middle English ælder (south-west midlands), early Middle English ældere (south-west midlands), early Middle English ældr- (south-west midlands, inflected form), early Middle English aldere, early Middle English aldre, late Middle English haldur (north-west midlands). Origin: Apparently a word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Apparently cognate with Old Frisian alder parent (see note), probably < the Germanic base of Old English alan to nourish (see old adj.) + a suffix ultimately < the same Indo-European base as classical Latin -tōr- , -tor , suffix forming agent nouns (see -or suffix; compare (with different forms of the suffix) Early Irish altru foster-father, Welsh alltraw godfather, athro teacher, and classical Latin altor nourisher), or alternatively perhaps < the Germanic base of old adj. + a Germanic suffix forming nouns (see note). Compare elder n.³Cognates. Old Frisian alder has also been interpreted as a use as noun of the comparative of Old Frisian ald old adj., which would make it more directly comparable to elder n.³ Unlike the comparative of the adjective, however, it does not show variants with initial e due to i-mutation. Compare the discussion of Old Frisian aldermon at ealdorman n. If the English word is in fact derived from the same Germanic base as old adj., the suffix in question is perhaps ultimately the same as the Germanic base of the comparative suffix (-er suffix³), which would make the word an etymological doublet of elder n.³ with a different ablaut grade of the suffix (the two words are in any case ultimately derived from the same Indo-European base). However, the suffix of Old English bealdor lord, ruler, prince (see Balder n.) has also been compared. History in English. In Old English, the word usually inflects as a strong masculine (occasionally used with a feminine article to reflect natural gender; compare variant reading in quot. OE² at sense 2). Weak masculine forms also occasionally occur. The forms of the word are in most cases clearly distinct from the forms of elder n.³ (the comparative of old adj. used as noun), as the latter shows i-mutation of the stem vowel and is always inflected as a weak masculine in Old English (West Saxon ieldra , yldra , Anglian ældra ). Moreover, the word occurs more frequently in sense 2 in Old English than in sense 1, while elder n.³ is more frequent in sense ‘parent, ancestor’ (see elder n.³ 1). Late Old English and early Middle English forms such as (plural) eldres may show confusion of the two words or merely hesitation over the spelling of the stem vowel after monophthongization of ea . Compare also quot. c1175 at sense 1, where the earlier manuscript shows elder n.³ In Middle English the stem vowel of both words regularly appears as a in the west midland dialect (in the Caligula manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut as a or æ ), but attestations of the form alder in sense ‘parent, ancestor, elder’ probably show elder n.³ rather than continuing sense 1 of alder n.² In the Otho manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut, other words are frequently substituted for the word in sense 2, with which the scribe may not have been familiar (compare quot. c1275¹ at sense 2); this suggests that in cases like quot. c1275² at sense 2 the forms eldere , eldre in the Otho manuscript in fact represent forms of elder n.³, substituted by the scribe for alder n.² Obsolete. 1. A parent; an ancestor, a forefather. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun] elder-fathereOE fatherOE elder971 alderOE eldfatherOE forme-fadera1200 ancestorc1300 grandsirec1300 aiela1325 belsirea1325 predecessora1325 forefather1377 morea1382 progenitorc1384 antecessorc1400 forn-fatherc1460 forebear1488 ancient1540 antecestrec1550 fore-grandsirec1550 grandfather1575 ascendant1604 forerunnera1616 ancienter1654 tupuna1845 OE Genesis A (1931) 1578 Þa com ærest Cam in siðian, eafora Noes, þær his aldor læg. OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Otho) v. Concl. 480 Þas þing by stære Ongelþiode cirican on Brytene, swa swa geo of manna gewritum oððe of ealdra gesegene [L. ex traditione maiorum]..ic gewitan mihte. c1175 ( Nativity of Virgin (Bodl.) in B. Assmann Angelsächsische Homilien u. Heiligenleben (1889) 125 Heo..ne æfter hire ealdre [OE Hatton yldrum] ne rymde, swa swa childes gewunæ wæs. 2. The head of a family or clan; a chief, a prince, a ruler.In Old English also rendering a number of Latin military and religious titles, esp. princeps princeps n. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun] alderOE patriarchc1200 prince?c1225 chief1587 top1615 chieftain1837 OE Beowulf (2008) 346 Wille ic asecgan..mærum þeodne min ærende, aldre þinum. OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xxxviii. 62 Butan hit þæt sy, þæt se ealder [a1225 Winteney seo ealdor; L. prior] hwæt scortlice of þære rædinge to hyra gastlican getimbrunge gereccan wille. OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 1 Ða worhton ealle þæra sacerda ealdras [L. principes sacerdotum] gemot & þæs folces ealdras ongen þone hælend. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 219 Hi [sc. the fallen angels] wolde mid modinesse beon betere þonne he ȝesceapen were, and cweð hare alder þat he mihte beon þam ælmihti god ȝelic. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11695 Frolle..ældere [c1300 Otho king] wes of France. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1559 Aganippes wes ihaten; hæleðen he wes ældere [c1300 Otho eldere]. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 95 A vncouþe tale..Of alderes, of armes, of oþer auenturus. c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 7 Of duȝti men and of dere, Of haldurs þat before vs were. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). > see also also refers to : alder-prefix < n.¹eOEn.²OE see also
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aldern.1

Compounds

† aldern.2

> see also

aldern.¹

† aldern.²