Some people object to senior citizen as a patronizing or demeaning euphemism. Though clearly euphemistic in tone, it is not so easy to say exactly what senior citizen is a euphemism for. Most synonyms for “an older person,” such as oldster, old-timer, and golden ager, are far more condescending or offensive, and one is left with compounds such as older person, elderly man, or old woman, which are not always better alternatives.
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Senior citizen is a well-established term, first recorded in 1938, that rarely gives real offense and that, when used appropriately, can offer certain advantages over other choices. Unlike expressions based on old or older, senior citizen acknowledges that age is not necessarily the only relevant factor in describing people who are advanced in years. Strictly speaking, a senior citizen is a person who has reached an agreed-upon retirement age (though who has not necessarily retired) and whose relation to society—in the form of certain benefits and privileges—has changed accordingly. Thus senior citizen denotes not only age but also social or civic status, making it the natural term to use when discussing an older person in a political or social context. It is when senior citizen is used more loosely in contexts other than the societal that it draws the sharpest criticism.
