eldmother

English

Alternative forms

• eldermother

Etymology

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 aldmōder, aldemōder (“grandmother”).

Noun

eldmother (plural eldmothers)

1. (dialectal, now archaic) One's grandmother or other female ancestor, or one's mother-in-law.
   • 1571 November 5, John Heworth of Gatisheid, Will, in Wills and Inventories from the Registry at Durham (1835):

     Item I gyve vnto my eldmother his wyffe my wyffes froke and a read petticote and a smoke.

   • 1586 July 15, “Isabel Chamber against John Robson in Causa Defamationis”, in Depositions and Other Ecclesiastical Proceedings from the Courts ... of Durham, published 1845:

     John Morpeth [...] saith that, on Sondaie last [...] the said John Robson said to the said Arthure, "Thou haiest a witch to thy eldmother[.]"

See also

• eldfather

References

• Language in Scotland: Corpus-based Studies (2013, →ISBN, page 159: Eldmother 'grandmother' has a similar range of dates, with no citations for 'mother-in-law' but a meaning of 'step-mother' surviving in Scots and northern English use until 1864.