Tra từ old - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

old [old older oldest] BrE [əʊld] NAmE [oʊld] adjective (old·er, old·est)

AGE
1. be… years, months, etc. ~ of a particular age
• The baby was only a few hours old.
• In those days most people left school when they were only fifteen years old.
•At thirty years old, he was already earning £40 000 a year.
•two fourteen-year-old boys
•a class for five-year-olds (= children who are five)
•I didn't think she was old enough for the responsibility.
•How old is this building?
•He's the oldest player in the team.
•She's much older than me.

NOT YOUNG
2. having lived for a long time; no longer young
•to get/grow old
• The old man lay propped up on cushions.
• She was a woman grown old before her time (= who looked older than she was).
Opp: ↑young
3. the oldnoun plural old people
•The old feel the cold more than the young.

NOT NEW
4. having existed or been used for a long time
•old habits
• He always gives the same old excuses.
• This carpet's getting pretty old now.
Opp: ↑new
5. only before noun former; belonging to past times or a past time in your life
• Things were different in the old days.
• I went back to visit my old school.
•Old and Middle English
6. only before noun used to refer to sth that has been replaced by sth else
• We had more room in our old house.
Opp: ↑new
7. only before noun known for a long time
• She's an old friend of mine (= I have known her for a long time).
• We're old rivals.
compare ↑recent

GOOD OLD/POOR OLD
8. only before noun (informal)used to show affection or a lack of respect
•Good old Dad!
•You poor old thing!
•I hate her, the silly old cow!
Rem: or
more at a chip off the old block at ↑chip _n., (there's) no fool like an old fool at ↑fool _n., a/the grand old agea/the grand old man (of sth) at ↑grand _adj., give sb the (old) heave-ho at ↑heave-ho, have a high old time at ↑high _adj., money for jam/old rope at ↑money, a/the ripe old age (of…) at ↑ripe, settle an old score at ↑settle _v., (you can't) teach an old dog new tricks at ↑teach, (as) tough as old boots at ↑tough _adj., be up to your (old) tricks at ↑trick _n.
Idioms: ↑any old how ▪ ↑any old … ▪ ↑as old as the hills ▪ ↑bad old days ▪ ↑for old times' sake ▪ ↑of old ▪ old boy/chap/man ▪ ↑old enough to be somebody's father ▪ ↑old enough to know better ▪ old head on young shoulders ▪ ↑old story ▪ ↑old wives' tale ▪ ↑one of the old school

Word Origin:
Old English ald, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch oud and German alt, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘adult’, shared by Latin alere ‘nourish’.

Thesaurus:
old adj.
1.
•He's getting old— he's 75 next year.
elderly • • mature • • long-lived • |formal aged •
Opp: young
a/an old/elderly/mature/long-lived/aged man/woman
a/an old/elderly/mature/aged gentleman/lady/couple
sb's old/elderly/aged father/mother/aunt/uncle/relative
2.
•It's one of the oldest parts of the castle.
ancient • • historic • • antique • • long-standing •
Opp: new
a/an old/ancient/historic building/monument
an old/ancient/antique chair/clock/coin
a/an old/ancient/long-standing tradition/belief/method/problem
an old/ancient custom/way/ritual/city/civilization
3.
•We had more room in our old house.
former • • then • • ex- •
Opp: new
sb's old/former/then/ex-partner/boyfriend/girlfriend
a/an old/former/ex-lover/colleague/member
a/an old/former/ex-student/colony

Synonyms:
old
elderly • aged • long-lived • mature
These words all describe sb/sth that has lived for a long time or that usually lives for a long time.
old • having lived for a long time; no longer young: ▪ She's getting old— she's 75 next year.
elderly • (rather formal) used as a polite word for ‘old’: ▪ She is very busy caring for two elderly relatives.
aged • (formal) very old: ▪ Having aged relatives to stay in your house can be quite stressful.
long-lived • having a long life; lasting for a long time: ▪ Everyone in my family is exceptionally long-lived.
mature • used as a polite or humorous way of saying that sb is no longer young: ▪ clothes for the mature woman
a(n) old/elderly/aged/long-lived/mature man/woman
a(n) old/elderly/aged/mature gentleman/lady/couple

Which Word?:
older / elder
The usual comparative and superlative forms of old are older and oldest: ▪ My brother is older than me. ◇ ▪ The palace is the oldest building in the city. In BrE you can also use elder and eldest when comparing the ages of people, especially members of the same family, although these words are not common in speech now. As adjectives they are only used before a noun and you cannot say ‘elder than’: ▪ my older/elder sister ◇ ▪ the elder/older of their two children ◇ ▪ I’m the eldest/oldest in the family.

Example Bank:
•Good old Dad!
•He was beginning to look old.
•He's a silly old fool!
•He's old enough by now to manage his own affairs.
•It's a funny old world.
•It's a very old tradition.
•It's always the same old faces.
•It's one of the oldest remaining parts of the church.
•It's the world's oldest surviving ship.
•She was fairly old when she got married.
•She's a silly old cow!
•The way the young people rushed about made her feel old.
•These are some of the oldest known fossil remains.
•We're all getting older.
•Why drink plain old water when you can have something better?
•You are as old as you feel.
•boring old history books
•I met up with some old school friends.
•It's not easy to break old habits.
•She was a woman grown old before her time.
•She's getting old— she's 75 next year.
•These are some of the oldest trees in the world.
•Things were different in the old days.
•This carpet's getting pretty old now.