past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
<noun.time> [ adj ]
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
<adj.all> his mother is very old a ripe old age how old are you?
of long duration; not new
<adj.all> old tradition old house old wine old country old friendships old money
(used for emphasis) very familiar
<adj.all> good old boy same old story
skilled through long experience
<adj.all> an old offender the older soldiers
belonging to some prior time
<adj.all> erstwhile friend our former glory the once capital of the state her quondam lover
(used informally especially for emphasis)
<adj.all> a real honest-to-god live cowboy had us a high old time went upriver to look at a sure-enough fish wheel
of a very early stage in development
<adj.all> Old English is also called Anglo Saxon Old High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th century
just preceding something else in time or order
<adj.all> the previous owner my old house was larger
Old \Old\ ([=o]ld), n. Open country. [Obs.] See {World}. --Shak.
Old \Old\, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf. {Adult}, {Alderman}, {Aliment}, {Auld}, {Elder}.] 1. Not young; advanced far in years or life; having lived till toward the end of the ordinary term of living; as, an old man; an old age; an old horse; an old tree.
Let not old age disgrace my high desire. --Sir P. Sidney.
The melancholy news that we grow old. --Young.
2. Not new or fresh; not recently made or produced; having existed for a long time; as, old wine; an old friendship. ``An old acquaintance.'' --Camden.
3. Formerly existing; ancient; not modern; preceding; original; as, an old law; an old custom; an old promise. ``The old schools of Greece.'' --Milton. ``The character of the old Ligurians.'' --Addison.
4. Continued in life; advanced in the course of existence; having (a certain) length of existence; -- designating the age of a person or thing; as, an infant a few hours old; a cathedral centuries old.
And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? --Cen. xlvii. 8.
Note: In this use old regularly follows the noun that designates the age; as, she was eight years old.
5. Long practiced; hence, skilled; experienced; cunning; as, an old offender; old in vice.
Vane, young in years, but in sage counsel old. --Milton.
6. Long cultivated; as, an old farm; old land, as opposed to {new} land, that is, to land lately cleared.
7. Worn out; weakened or exhausted by use; past usefulness; as, old shoes; old clothes.
8. More than enough; abundant. [Obs.]
If a man were porter of hell gate, he should have old turning the key. --Shak.
9. Aged; antiquated; hence, wanting in the mental vigor or other qualities belonging to youth; -- used disparagingly as a term of reproach.
10. Old-fashioned; wonted; customary; as of old; as, the good old times; hence, colloquially, gay; jolly.
11. Used colloquially as a term of cordiality and familiarity. ``Go thy ways, old lad.'' --Shak.
{Old age}, advanced years; the latter period of life.
{Old bachelor}. See {Bachelor}, 1.
{Old Catholics}. See under {Catholic}.
{Old English}. See under {English}. n., 2.
{Old Nick}, {Old Scratch}, the devil.
{Old lady} (Zo["o]l.), a large European noctuid moth ({Mormo maura}).
{Old maid}. (a) A woman, somewhat advanced in years, who has never been married; a spinster. (b) (Bot.) A West Indian name for the pink-flowered periwinkle ({Vinca rosea}). (c) A simple game of cards, played by matching them. The person with whom the odd card is left is the old maid.
{Old man's beard}. (Bot.) (a) The traveler's joy ({Clematis Vitalba}). So named from the abundant long feathery awns of its fruit. (b) The {Tillandsia usneoides}. See {Tillandsia}.
{Old man's head} (Bot.), a columnar cactus ({Pilocereus senilis}), native of Mexico, covered towards the top with long white hairs.
{Old red sandstone} (Geol.), a series of red sandstone rocks situated below the rocks of the Carboniferous age and comprising various strata of siliceous sandstones and conglomerates. See {Sandstone}, and the Chart of {Geology}.
{Old school}, a school or party belonging to a former time, or preserving the character, manner, or opinions of a former time; as, a gentleman of the old school; -- used also adjectively; as, Old-School Presbyterians.
{Old sledge}, an old and well-known game of cards, called also {all fours}, and {high, low, Jack, and the game}.
{Old squaw} (Zo["o]l.), a duck ({Clangula hyemalis}) inhabiting the northern parts of both hemispheres. The adult male is varied with black and white and is remarkable for the length of its tail. Called also {longtailed duck}, {south southerly}, {callow}, {hareld}, and {old wife}.
{Old style}. (Chron.) See the Note under {Style}.
{Old Testament}. See {Old Testament} under {Testament}, and see {tanak}.
{Old wife}. [In the senses b and c written also {oldwife}.] (a) A prating old woman; a gossip.
Refuse profane and old wives' fables. --1 Tim. iv. 7. (b) (Zo["o]l.) The local name of various fishes, as the European black sea bream ({Cantharus lineatus}), the American alewife, etc. (c) (Zo["o]l.) A duck; the old squaw.
Mr. Miercort, 47 years old, succeeds Robert E. Murray, 48, who was dismissed.
He also accused his old friend and former Parliament speaker Anatoly Lukyanov of betraying him during the attempted coup.
The plane is only 2 years old and it was in good condition," Lo said.
City officials rushed to put Holly's name on a park, built on the outskirts of town over an old landfill.
That's just "murderous" for any violin, he says, and especially so for the 500 to 600 old Cremonese violins still being played (out of a couple of thousand produced by the masters).
The last tiny dusky died of old age in June in a specially designed environment on Discovery Island, a Walt Disney World zoological park primarily for birds.
Last month, Glaxo invested $20 million in three-year old Gilead Sciences, Foster City, Calif., to develop anti-cancer drugs.
There are those who hope Reagan's fondness for his old vocation will lead him back to the screen.
Members of the Nationalist old guard, in a remarkable reversal of past attitudes, have described Lee's position as too harsh.
The ones who have escaped _ they are a special chapter, the lost possibilities." Of the remaining war criminals, he said: "They are getting old. This is my daily problem.
After the car turns a year old, Turtle Wax Inc. recommends, a regular wax containing cleaners can be used.
Under rules set by the government, reconstruction must follow the style and outline of the old buildings.
W. Dennis Thomas, 45 years old, was named vice president of federal-corporate affairs at this pulp and paper maker.
Roland H. Meyer, 60 years old, was named chief operating officer.
He said, "There's an old Greek saying and I suspect the Italians have the same one.
An old rectory might come to Pounds 800-Pounds 900.
An 82-year-old company with an old and loyal customer base and 7,000 employees, Foxboro recently emerged from a restructuring.
The Peranakan restaurant, serving nyonya food, is in an old Chinese house in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok.
Mr. McNeill, 50 years old, has been in charge of the company's domestic construction operations.
He also said many records of the old East German leadership were destroyed by the secret police when it became clear the Honecker regime was crumbling.
She wants a roll-call vote on the old statute.
'But as its market erodes, it has a disincentive to fund the full range of work because its competitors can free ride.' By the new pattern in the US, aggressive small and mid-sized firms invest heavily in research, while the old giants hold R&D down.
The old Mao was driven off in a flatbed truck.
The core volunteers are aided by pueblo residents old and young, who gather when they can at the adobe-making site a mile away from the church to help with anything from loading materials to cooking.
At midnight every British terrestrial television channel will be showing an old Hollywood movie.
Most of the Maronites remaining in the north are old people who mainly work the land.
He is 62 years old and his knees ache.
"They hear the bell ringing and get up and run." Mr. Gargano, once part of a high-profile group of advertising whiz kids, at 58 years old remains one of the best-known names in the ad business.
Cryan was living in one of the old cottages and didn't even know it.
TransCanada said it will modify part of the old expansion proposal in its new plan.