I. -lē, -li adjective
Etymology: elder (II) + -ly
1. : somewhat old:
a. : rather advanced in years : past middle age
we must face the problems of an aging population, i.e., where a much larger proportion of the citizens is elderly — Alan Gregg
b. : old-fashioned , out-of-date , outmoded
an elderly office building on lower Fifth Avenue — Dwight Macdonald
2. : of, relating to, or characteristic of one past the prime of life
the Frate carried his doctrine rather too far for elderly ears — George Eliot
II. ˈeldə(r)lē noun
( plural elderly or elderlies )
: an elderly person