While perusing some elderbloggers blogs, I came across a discussion of the term Senior Citizen v.s. Elder. Language has always intrigued me, so I decided to dig further.
Did you know that Dictionary.com defines a Senior Citizen as:
- an elderly or aged person, especially one who is retired or whose principal source of support is a pension or Social Security benefits.
What a non-descript definition. How utterly boring and useless.
An Elder, on the other hand is defined as:
- a person who is older or higher in rank than oneself.
- an aged person.
- an influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior.
The Bible Dictionary (not one I usually frequent, but pertinent here) defines Elder as:
- a name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7).
Now, which would you rather be called as you age, Senior Citizen? Or Elder? I know without a doubt you can consider me an “Elder”. Don’t call me a “Senior Citizen” unless you want to insult me! You’ve been forewarned.
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