Old vs Last - What's the difference?
old | last |
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
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*:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
#Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
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#Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.
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Of an item that has been used and so is not new (unused).
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Having existed or lived for the specified time.
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(lb) Of an earlier time.
#Former, previous.
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#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8
, passage=The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.}}
#*1994 , Michael Grumley, Life Drawing
#*:But over my old life, a new life had formed.
#That is no longer in existence.
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#Obsolete; out-of-date.
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#Familiar.
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Tiresome.
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Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)
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(lb) Excessive, abundant.
*1599 , (William Shakespeare), (Much Ado About Nothing) , :
*:URSULA: Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home: it is proved, my Lady Hero hath been falsely accused, the prince and Claudio mightily abused;
People who are old; old beings; the older generation; usually used with the .
Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind.
* , chapter=5
, title= Most recent, latest, last so far.
* {{quote-magazine, title=No hiding place
, date=2013-05-25, volume=407, issue=8837, page=74, magazine=(The Economist)
Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable.
Being the only one remaining of its class.
Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
* R. Hall
Lowest in rank or degree.
The (one) immediately before the present.
(of a, day of the week) Closest to seven days (one week) ago.
Most recently.
* Shakespeare
(sequence) after everything else; finally
* Dryden
To perform, carry out.
(label) To endure, continue over time.
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*:Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;.
(label) To hold out, continue undefeated or entire.
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a tool for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes
* 2006, Newman, Cathy, Every Shoe Tells a Story , National Geographic (September, 2006), 83,
To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last.
(obsolete) A burden; load; a cargo; freight.
(obsolete) A measure of weight or quantity, varying in designation depending on the goods concerned.
* 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 114:
* 1866 , James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England , Volume 1, page 169,
(obsolete) An old English (and Dutch) measure of the carrying capacity of a ship, equal to two tons.
* 1942 (1601) , T D Mutch,
A load of some commodity with reference to its weight and commercial value.
As a noun old
is age.As a verb last is
.old
English
(wikipedia old)Adjective
(en-adj)Synonyms
* (having existed for a long period of time) ancient, long in the tooth * (having lived for many years) aged, ageing / aging, elderly, long in the tooth, on in years * (having existed or lived for the specified time) aged, of age * (former) erstwhile, ex-, former, one-time, past * (out-of-date) antiquated, obsolete (words) * See alsoAntonyms
* (having existed for a long period of time) brand new, fresh, new * (having lived for many years) young * (former) current, latest, newDerived terms
* age-old * any old * big old * good old * little old * old age * old-age * Old Akkadian * Old Armenian * Old Assyrian * old as the hills * Old Babylonian * Old Blighty * Old Bulgarian * Old Church Slavic * Old Church Slavonic * old college try * old country * Old Czech * Old Dutch * olden * Old Egyptian * Old English * old fart * old-fashioned * old flame * Old Flemish * old fogey * old franc * Old Franconian * Old Frankish * Old French * Old Frisian * Old Glory * old gold * old growth * old guard * old hand * old hat * Old High German * Old Icelandic * oldies * Old Indic * Old Indo-Aryan * Old Ionic * Old Iranian * Old Irish * old lace * old lady * Old Latin * Old Low Franconian * Old Low Frankish * Old Low German * old maid * old man * old money * Old Nick * Old Norse * Old North French * Old Norwegian * old penny * Old Persian * * Old Prussian * old regime * Old Russian * olds * old salt * old saw * Old Saxon * Old Scandinavian * old school * Old Slavic * Old Slavonic * old sweat * Old Testament * old-time * old-timer * Old Welsh * old woman * Old World * old-world * over-old * same old same old * same old story * some old * you can't put an old head on young shouldersNoun
(usually used as plural)- A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.
Statistics
*last
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) (m), (m), syncopated variant of (m), from (etyl) latost, (m), , whence English (l).Adjective
(-)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.}}
citation, passage=In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year.}}
- He is the last person to be accused of theft.
- Contending for principles of the last importance.
- the last prize
- (Alexander Pope)
Synonyms
* (final) at the end, caboose, final, tail end, terminal, ultimate * (most recent) latest, most recentDerived terms
* last word * nice guys finish lastDeterminer
(en determiner)- Last night the moon was full.
- We went there last year.
- Last Tuesday was Hallowe'en.
- Last time we talked about this was in January.
- It's Wednesday, and the party was last Tuesday; that is, not yesterday, but eight days ago.
Usage notes
* (both senses) This cannot be used in past or future tense to refer to a time immediately before the subject matter. For example, one does not say or the like.Adverb
(-)- When we last met, he was based in Toronto.
- How long is't now since last yourself and I / Were in a mask?
- I'll go last .
- last but not least
- Pleased with his idol, he commends, admires, / Adores; and, last , the thing adored desires.
Synonyms
* finally * lastlyEtymology 2
From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)Synonyms
* continue * endure * surviveAntonyms
* disintegrate * dissipate * fall apart * wear outEtymology 3
(etyl) .Noun
(wikipedia last) (en noun)- How is an in-your-face black leather thigh-high lace-up boot with a four-inch spike heel like a man's black calf lace-up oxford? They are both made on a last , the wood or plastic foot-shaped form that leather is stretched over and shaped to make a shoe.
Derived terms
*Verb
(en verb)- to last a boot
Etymology 4
From (etyl) last, from (etyl) , (etyl) last, (etyl) Last, (etyl) last, (etyl) lest.Noun
(en noun)- Now we so quietly followed our businesse, that in three moneths wee made three or foure Last of Tarre, Pitch, and Sope ashes [...].
- The last of wool is twelve sacks.
The First Discovery of Australia, page 14,
- The tonnage of the of Harmensz's fleet is given as 25 and 30 lasten .