alder
[ˈɑl.dɚ]
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.97 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An alderman or alderwoman.
name
A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by alder trees.
Example Sentences
- "I’ve known ere now an interfering branch / Of alder catch my lifted axe behind me. / But that was in the woods, to hold my hand / From striking at another alder’s roots, / And that was, as I say, an alder branch."
- "Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper."
- "That's what the tiercel was doing when I found him again in the alder."
- "Almost immediately, city alders contacted the campaign to negotiate an ordinance."
- "Chicago's mayor Edward Kennelly, the city alders, and many white Chicagoans opposed this siting plan."
- "After three years as Ward 1 alder, Sarah Eidelson ’12 will leave city government at the end of the year."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English aldre, alder, aller, from Old English alor, from Proto-West Germanic *aluʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō, *alizō, *alisō.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: [ˈɑl.dɚ]
- British English: /ˈɔːldə/