eighty-three-year-old
UK[ˌeɪti θriː jɪər əʊld]US[ˌeɪti θri jɪr oʊld]
adj
Being eighty-three years of age.
n
A person who is eighty-three years old.
Morpheme Breakdown
eighty
three
year
old
eighty
three
year
year, season
old
grown up, adult, aged
Etymology
The compound "eighty-three-year-old" is a modern English construction built from native Germanic elements following a logical numeric and descriptive pattern. Its first element, "eighty," originates from the Old English system of counting by tens, combining the word for "eight" with a suffix denoting a decade. This joins with "three," an ancient numeral stable since Proto-Indo-European times, to specify the exact count. The final segment, "year-old," employs the core Germanic words for a solar cycle and for age, creating a hyphenated adjectival or nominal phrase that precisely denotes an entity's duration of existence. The entire formation exemplifies English's analytical tendency to create transparent, multi-part compounds for specific descriptive purposes, particularly for age.
Analysis
Structure: eighty + three + year + old
- eighty: From Old English 'eahtatig', a compound of 'eahta' (eight) and '-tig' (group of ten). A cardinal number.
- three: From Old English 'þrī', from Proto-Germanic 'þrīz', from Proto-Indo-European 'tréyes'. A cardinal number.
- year: From Old English 'ġēar', from Proto-Germanic 'jērą', meaning "year, season".
- old: From Old English 'eald', from Proto-Germanic 'aldaz', meaning "grown up, adult, aged".
Examples
The eighty-three-year-old bridge was declared a historical monument.
My neighbor, a sprightly eighty-three-year-old, still tends her own garden.
The study focused on the health outcomes of eighty-three-year-olds in the community.