Eltern

== German == === Alternative forms === Aeltern, Ältern, Elteren (obsolete) === 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɛltərn/, [ˈʔɛl.tɐn] === Noun === Eltern pl (plural only) parents ==== Usage notes ==== When a singular is required, the term Elternteil is used in everyday language. In certain fields such as psychology and genetics, however, the back-formed singular Elter is also used. When the word numeral “two” was still declined by gender (zween m, zwo f, zwei n), the masculine form was predominantly used, less often the neuter one. ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “Eltern” in Duden online “Eltern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache “Eltern” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon