The Care of the Elderly
The Elderly today do not receive the same kind of care and respect as in times past.
According to the Oxford Dictionary (2002), elderly is defined as an old person or a person who has aged.
Dictionary.com defines elderly as some one nearing old age or a person being past middle age and approaching old age (sometimes considered offensive), of or pertaining to persons in later life. It also stated that elderly means being advanced in years, aged members of society, or senior citizens, of relating to or characteristics of older persons or life in later years.
The term elderly also means someone who is rather old (The Concise Oxford Dictionary 1997). For example in most developed societies, adults are declared to be old when they reach the ages of 60-65 and secure their pension entitlement. (A pensioner is a person who has retired, and now collects a pension). Someone of pensionable age may be also referred to as an ‘old age pensioner’; the term retiree is more common.
The Encarta dictionary.com also defines elderly as being old or somewhat old fashioned. Or having lived a relatively long time or attained a specific age “his mother is very old”, “a ripe old age”, “how old are you?” somewhat old; advanced; beyond middle age; bordering on old age; as, elderly people.
Some other words for elderly are aged, ripe, mellow, declining, past ones prime, Having one foot in the grave, antiquated, time worn, etc. (Webster’s online dictionary).
The boundary between middle age and old age cannot be defined exactly because it does not have the same meaning in all societies. Sometimes people are considered old because of certain changes in their activities or social roles. For example people are considered old when they become grandparents or when they begin to do less or different work.
People are also considered old if they have lived a certain number of years. A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. The term is...