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Youngster has been used since the 16th century as a word for a young person with a lot of spunk. It has also long been used by maritime people as a word for a midshipman who has served less than four years. This use is connected with the Dutch word younker, which, like "youngster," refers to a young person as well as a young seaman. "Oldster" came about as a word used to differentiate the inexperienced midshipmen, or youngsters, from the experienced ones. To be exact, an oldster is a midshipman of four years' standing. Charles Dickens gets credit for the earliest known use of "oldster" in the general sense of "an old person." In his 1848 novel Dombey & Son he wrote, "Her eyes would play the Devil with the youngsters before long - 'and the oldsters too, Sir, if you come to that,' added the Major."
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Examples of oldster in a Sentence
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
The Duke is the true tale of an eccentric oldster who, in 1961, stole a Francisco Goya painting of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
—Dallas News, 28 Apr. 2022
Stalking the herd is easier than stalking the old and wary lone bull, which has been expelled from the flock by the young bloods, or stalking an old bull with an askaria young bull that serves as stooge and bodyguard to the oldster.
—Robert Ruark, Field & Stream, 1 Dec. 2020
While Rivers was plotting and plodding his way to victory Sunday, another oldster threw five touchdown passes with his new team.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2020
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Dictionary Entries Near oldster
Cite this Entry
“Oldster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oldster. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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oldster
noun
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