父老 (fù lǎo) — elders (of a community, village, or country); respected senior members of a locality

Definition

A formal, literary collective noun for the respected senior members of a village, region, or country — almost always used as a set address (各位父老乡亲) when speaking to a hometown audience.

noun
elders (of a community, village, or country)respected senior members of a locality
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 。
    Gǎn xiè gè wèi fù lǎo xiāng qīn de zhī chí.
    Thank you all, fellow elders and villagers, for your support.
  • 父老。
    Cūn lǐ de fù lǎo dōu lái cān jiā zhè cì dà huì le.
    All the village elders came to attend this meeting.
  • 父老。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù shòu dào fù lǎo de zūn jìng.
    He has been respected by the elders since childhood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

父fùfather
老lǎoold

父 and 老 both refer to senior figures, giving the idea of village elders.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Open 父 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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