A New Definition of Old: Definition by Default

“You are old and just don’t know it,” a man who is fifty years old, tells a woman of sixty-five. While one has to chuckle with respect to this statement, at the same time, there is a note of concern and consternation. Does this imply bullying of the elderly? Perhaps this is old as in wise or wisdom acquired by the elderly.

This leads to another question.

Is there a universal, age-specific definition for the word old? 

One might suggest that in our western world, there would be or should be. Comparing the word old as used in the western world to its usage in the rest of the world, it becomes increasingly apparent that the word old may not have a distinct definition by age, as such. 

What does the United Nations suggest with respect to the use of the word ‘old’, around the globe? 

“At the moment, there is no United Nations standard numerical criterion, but the UN agreed cutoff is 60+ years to refer to the older population.”

Note that this age refers to the entire global population, not just to people in one specific part of the world and may affect many people worldwide.  

“Lacking an accepted and acceptable definition, in many instances the age at which a person became eligible for statutory and occupational retirement pensions has become the default definition.”

Should pension eligibility be a criterion for defining old?

The difficulty with this lies in the reality that eligibility for retirement pensions does not always mean at the same age. Some pensions kick in at age fifty or fifty-five, others at age sixty or sixty-five. In the western world, there is talk about increasing the age when the elderly qualify for government senior’s pensions to age sixty-seven.

“The common use of a calendar age to mark the threshold of old age assumes equivalence with biological age, yet at the same time, it is generally accepted that these two are not necessarily synonymous.”

The freedictionary.com suggests that old refers to “having lived or existed for a relatively long time; far advanced in years or life” or being “relatively advanced in age.”

How long is a relatively long time? How far is far advanced in terms of years? What does it mean to be relatively advanced in age? What is the actual number of years?

Taking it even further, old suggests “relating to a long life or to people who have had long lives” and “having or exhibiting the physical characteristics of age”.

There is concern related to the word old when it implies “at least a degree of age-related infirmity”, but at the same time, an infant can be x number of hours old, a child can be x number of years old; a teenager can be seventeen years old and there is not necessarily any infirmity.  

The word old is the opposite of young, as in young senior as opposed to old senior. Old can refer to the opposites of old and new, too. For example, there is an old senior or a young senior in a nursing home. The old senior has been there for a long time and the new senior has just moved in. 

Perhaps the key to understanding the word old as it pertains to the elderly, has more to do with its appropriate usage in terms of political correctness and thus, definition by default may or may not always be age appropriate.