Meanings
auld1
comparative aulder · superlative auldest · alternative aud · alternative aul · alternative oul · alternative oul' · alternative ould
- IrelandScotlandarchaic outwith Northern England; Liverpool; archaic outwith Northern England; LiverpoolOld.
1 more example
To prepare for the burning bowl, each person writes on slips of paper those negative traits or situations they would like to be rid of in the year to come. Examples might be, […] “Proclivity for attracting Messrs. Wrong”—anything that needs to go in the auld acquaintance category and be never brought to mind.
2004, Victoria Moran, “December 27: The Burning Bowl”, in Younger by the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body and Revitalize Your Spirit, [San Francisco, Calif.]: HarperSanFrancisco, →ISBN, page 428
Auld2
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivea Scottish word
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
auld · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eltós“grown, nourished, matured”
- Proto-Germanic*aldaz“grown up; old”
- Proto-West Germanic*ald
- Old Englisheald“old, mature, venerable; antique, ancient, primeval”
- Northumbrian Old Englishald
- Northern Middle Englishauld
- Scotsauld
- Englishauld
From Scots auld or from Northern Middle English auld, aulde, awld, awlde, ald, alde, from Northumbrian Old English ald, variant of Old English eald (“old, mature, venerable; antique, ancient, primeval”), from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown up; old”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós (“grown, nourished, matured”). Compare cognate Latin altus (“nourished, raised, grown; tall”). Doublet of old.
More words from Scots, Northern Middle English, Northumbrian Old English
Full word history & related roots →Auld · proper noun
- Scotsauld“old”
- EnglishAuld
From Scots auld (“old”). Compare the English surname Old.
More words from Scots
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with auld
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Anagrams
Cite this entry
auld. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auld
“auld.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auld. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “auld,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auld.
Source: auld on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.