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 aldemōder. === Noun === eldmother (plural eldmothers) (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. === 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.