vieux

• vieulx (obsolete)

From Middle French vieulx, from Old French viel, from Vulgar Latin veclus, from Latin vetulus.

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• IPA^(key): /vjø/

vieux (masculine singular before vowel vieil, feminine singular vieille, masculine plural vieux, feminine plural vieilles)

1. old
   • 1862, Victor Hugo, Les misérables

     Au temps de sa pire misère, il remarquait que les jeunes filles se retournaient quand il passait, et il se sauvait ou se cachait, la mort dans l’âme. Il pensait qu’elles le regardaient pour ses vieux habits et qu’elles en riaient, le fait est qu’elles le regardaient pour sa grâce et qu’elles en rêvaient.

     At the period of his most abject misery, he had observed that young girls turned round when he passed by, and he fled or hid, with death in his soul. He thought that they were staring at him because of his old clothes, and that they were laughing at them; the fact is, that they stared at him because of his grace, and that they dreamed of him.

• When placed before a singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute h, vieux becomes vieil: vieil homme /vjɛj ɔm/. In the plural, vieux does not change and liaison occurs instead: vieux hommes /vjø.z‿ɔm/.
• vieil ami = old friend (longstanding), ami âgé = old friend (in age)

• âgé

• jeune
• neuf
• nouveau

• vieux riche (old money)

vieux m (plural vieux, feminine vieille)

1. old person

• mon vieux

• vieillard
• vieillerie
• vieillesse
• vieillir
• vieillot

• ancien

• “vieux” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).