Meanings
plural eldmothers · alternative eldermother
- archaicdialectalOne's grandmother or other female ancestor, or one's mother-in-law.
Item I gyve vnto my eldmother his wyffe my wyffes froke and a read petticote and a smoke.
1571 November 5, John Heworth of Gatisheid, Will, in Wills and Inventories from the Registry at Durham (1835)1 more example
John Morpeth [...] saith that, on Sondaie last [...] the said John Robson said to the said Arthure, "Thou haiest a witch to thy eldmother[.]"
1586 July 15, “Isabel Chamber against John Robson in Causa Defamationis”, in Depositions and Other Ecclesiastical Proceedings from the Courts ... of Durham, published 1845
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old Englisheald mōdor“grandmother”
- Middle Englisheldmoder
- Englisheldmother
From Middle English eldmoder, from Old English eald mōdor (“grandmother”), equivalent to eld (“old”) + mother. Cognate with Scots eldmoder, eldmother (“mother-in-law”), Old Frisian aldemōder.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
eldmother. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eldmother
“eldmother.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eldmother. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eldmother,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eldmother.
Source: eldmother on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.