Olden Meaning
/ˈəʊl.dn̩/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjFrom or relating to a previous era.
adjOld; ancient.
Sentence Examples
The legend has come down in this district from olden times.
In olden times, football was popular in both Greece and Rome.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the ____ days, people often traveled by horse and carriage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In ____ times, travelers relied on the stars to navigate across vast and unfamiliar territories.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English olden, probably originally an inflected plural form of old (compare Old English ealdum, dative plural of eald (“old”)), but later reanalysed as equivalent to old + -en (“made of”). Otherwise derived from Old Norse aldinn (“ancient, old”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""You are right to some extent in what you say. In the olden days people had a stronger belief in all kinds of witchery; now they pretend not to believe in it, that they may be looked upon as sensible and educated people, as you say.""
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 156:
"In olden days, a glimpse of stockings
Was looked on as something shocking;
Now, heaven knows,
Anything goes."
— 1934, Cole Porter, “Anything Goes”:
"We […] told over the story of past sufferings, and renewed olden vows of devotion."
— 1857, Martha Griffith Browne, Autobiography of a Female Slave, page 347:
"Beowulf, behind his shield, thrust forth only his right arm. In it he had picked up the sword of Ing, well known in olden lore."
— 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 44:
"Of all Sedley's opponents in his debates with his creditors which now ensued, and harassed the feelings of the humiliated old gentleman so severely, that in six weeks he oldened more than he had done for fifteen years before—the most determined and obstinate seemed to be John Osborne, his old friend and neighbour […]"
— 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the ____ days, people often traveled by horse and carriage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In ____ times, travelers relied on the stars to navigate across vast and unfamiliar territories.