Elderly Cockney’s influence (3)
I believe the answer is:
old
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'elderly' is the first definition.
(similar in meaning)
'cockney's influence' is the second definition.
('hold' - thesaurus - said with a cockney accent, dropping the 'H')
(Other definitions for old that I've seen before include "Vintage" , "Ancient" , "Much-used" , "Long-established" , "No longer young" .)