Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or relating to the last phase of life.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having the characters of old age or senility: specially applied to one of the stages in the growth and decline of the individual, bearing characteristics peculiar to itself, but reproducing in part those of the infantile stage.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of or pertaining to
old age or theelderly . - adjective biology Of or pertaining to
senescent animals orplants .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
First attested in the late 19th century. From Ancient Greek γέρων (gerōn, "old man").
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Examples
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Miss Trevor gulped it down, and then permitted herself to be led to a sofa, where she lay sprawled, her immaculate hat on one side, giving her the look of a debauched gerontic virgin.
Black Oxen Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton 1902
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