elder
‘greater than another in age or seniority’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
E. eldere, eldre, elldre, ælder < O.E. (Merc.) eldra < eald, ald (A.), eald (We.S., Kent.) ‘antique, of ancient origin, belonging to antiquity, primeval; long in existence or use; near the end of the normal span of life; elder, mature, experienced’ < Proto-G. althaz ‘grown up, adult’ < el < al- < Tamil al