[old] adj [ME, fr. OE eald; akin to OHG alt old, L alere to nourish, alescere to grow, altus high, deep] (bef. 12c) 1 a: dating from the remote past: ancient "~ traditions" b: persisting from an earlier time "an ~ ailment" "they brought up the same ~ argument" c: of long standing "an ~ friend"
2. a: distinguished from an object of the same kind by being of an earlier date "many still used the ~ name" b cap: belonging to an early period in the development of a language or literature "Old Persian"
3: having existed for a specified period of time "a girl three years ~"
4: of, relating to, or originating in a past era "~ chronicles record the event"
5. a: advanced in years or age "an ~ man" b: showing the characteristics of age "looked ~ at 20"
6: experienced "an ~ trooper speaking of the last war" 7: former "his ~ students"
8. a: showing the effects of time or use: worn, aged "~ shoes" b: well advanced toward reduction by running water to the lowest level possible--used of topographic features c: no longer in use: discarded "~ rags" d: of a grayish or dusty color "~ mauve" e: tiresome "gets ~ fast"
9. a: long familiar "same ~ story" "good ~ Joe" b--used as an intensive "a high ~ time" c--used to express an attitude of affection or amusement "a big ~ dog" "flex the ~ biceps" "any ~ time" syn old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete mean having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past. old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence "old houses" "an old sweater of mine". ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past "ancient accounts of dragons". venerable stresses the impressiveness and dignity of great age "the family's venerable patriarch". antique applies to what has come down from a former or ancient time "collected antique Chippendale furniture". antiquated implies being discredited or outmoded or otherwise inappropriate to the present time "antiquated teaching methods". archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time "the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period". obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence "a computer that makes earlier models obsolete".
[2]old n (13c) 1: one of a specified age--usu. used in combination "a 3-year-old"
2: old or earlier time--used in the phrase of old "mighty men of ~"