Eltern

Meaning

parents

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛltərn/

Etymology

From Middle High German eltern, from Old High German eltirōn, from Proto-Germanic *alþizô. Compare Dutch ouders, English elders.
The form is equivalent to a nominalised comparative of alt (“old”). The according spelling Ältern was common in Early Modern German, but later went out of fashion. Several sources claim that this was due to incomprehension of the etymology, but that seems implausible given its obviousness. An alternative explanation would be the desire to distinguish between Eltern (“parents”) and die Älteren (“older ones, elders”), which latter was commonly spelt Ältern.

Sentences

Sind wir bald da ?, fragte Susi ihre Eltern .

Are we there soon?, Susi asked her parents.

Als Kind zog Fairchild mit seinen Eltern nach Cleveland.

As a child, Fairchild moved to Cleveland with his parents.

In einem grausamen Showdown werden die Eltern getötet .

In a gruesome showdown, the parents are killed.

Geyer-Hopfes Eltern waren Mitglieder im Theaterverein Freiberg .

Geyer-Hopf's parents were members of the Theaterverein Freiberg.

Seine Eltern , Robert Schuiten und Marie-Madeleine De Maeyer, waren beide Architekten .

His parents, Robert Schuiten and Marie-Madeleine De Maeyer, were both architects.