长辈
zhǎngbèi · HSK 7
elder
👴 长 (senior) + 辈 (generation) = the elder generation, your superiors
长 here is zhǎng meaning senior or elder, and 辈 means a generation or cohort. Together a 长辈 is anyone of the older generation above you in rank or age.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.
辈 — non/not 非 + cart 车
Originally depicted a line of chariots (车) arranged in rows, with 非 indicating rows facing opposite directions. From 'row of carts' it extended to mean a generation, cohort, or class of people. Today it commonly means 'generation' or marks a group, as in 长辈 (elders).