Relating to or characteristic of old age; having the qualities or nature of advanced age.
From geront + '-ine' (of or relating to). The '-ine' suffix appears in many adjectives (like 'medicine,' 'feminine') and here creates a softer descriptor for age-related qualities.
Gerontine sounds almost affectionate compared to harsher terms, suggesting how word-formation affects our psychological distance from aging—our suffix choices reveal our attitudes.
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