alder

Etymology 1

From Middle English aldre, alder, aller, from Old English alor, from Proto-West Germanic *aluʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō, *alizō, *alisō.

noun

1. Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.
   Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper. 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273
   That's what the tiercel was doing when I found him again in the alder. 1967, J. A. Baker, The Peregrine, page 40

Etymology 2

Clipping of alderman.

noun

1. An alderman or alderwoman.
   Almost immediately, city alders contacted the campaign to negotiate an ordinance. 2004, Stephanie Luce -, Fighting for a Living Wage, page 121
   Chicago's mayor Edward Kennelly, the city alders, and many white Chicagoans opposed this siting plan. 2013, Dawn Day Biehler, Pests in the City: Flies, Bedbugs, Cockroaches, and Rats, page 180
   After three years as Ward 1 alder, Sarah Eidelson ’12 will leave city government at the end of the year. September 28, 2017, Isabel Bysiewicz, “Eidelson reflects on time as alder”, in Yale Daily News