Senescent

By Deane Barker tags: definition

Definition: old, aged

The root is the Latin “sen,” which means “old,” which is also where we get “senile” from.

Why I Looked It Up

In Information Hunters, which discusses a request for a pension:

It has “a slightly crackpot (or senescent) air of plaint and persecution.”

The implication is that the requestor was either crazy or senile.