Online Etymology Dictionary

elegant: c.1485, from M.Fr. élégant (15c.), from L. elegantem (nom. elegans) "choice, fine, tasteful," prp. of eligere "select with care, choose." Elegans was originally a term of reproach, "dainty, fastidious;" the notion of "tastefully refined" emerged in classical L.
elegy: 1514, from M.Fr. elegie, from L. elegia, from Gk. elegeia ode "an elegaic song," from elegeia, fem. of elegeios "elegaic," from elegos "poem or song of lament," perhaps from a Phrygian word.
element: c.1300, "earth, air, fire, water," from O.Fr. element, from L. elementem "rudiment, first principle, matter in its most basic form," origin unknown (translated Gk. stoikheion). Modern chemical sense is 1813. Elements "atmospheric force" is 1555; elementary school is 1841.
elephant: c.1300, olyfaunt, from O.Fr. oliphant, from L. elephantus, from Gk. elephas (gen. elephantos) "elephant, ivory," probably from a non-I.E. language, likely via Phoenician (cf. Hamitic elu "elephant," source of the word for it in many Sem. languages, or possibly from Skt. ibhah "elephant"). Re-spelled after 1550 on L. model. As an emblem of the Republican Party in U.S. politics, 1860. White elephant (1851) supposedly arose from the practice of the King of Siam of presenting one of the sacred albino elephants to a courtier who had fallen from favor; the gift was a great honor, but the cost of proper upkeep of one was ruinous. To see the elephant "be acquainted with life, gain knowledge by experience" is an Amer.Eng. colloquialism from 1835.
elephantiasis: 1581, from Gk. elephantos, gen. of elephas "elephant" + -iasis "pathological or morbid condition." It refers to two diseases, one characterized by thickening of a body part (E. Arabum), the other, older meaning is "disease characterized by skin resembling an elephant's" (E. Græcorum, also called Egyptian leprosy).
Eleusinian: 1643, "pertaining to Eleusis," town outside Athens, side of the mystery associated with the cult of Demeter, goddess of harvests, and her daughter.
eleutherian: 1623, from Gk. eleutherios "like a free man, noble-minded, frank, liberal," lit. "freeing, delivering, releaser," title of Zeus as protector of political freedom, from eleutheria "freedom," from PIE *leu-dheros.
elevate: 1497, from L. elevatus, pp. of elevare "lift up, raise," from ex- "out" + levare "lighten, raise," from levis "light" in weight (see lever). Elevator in the mechanical sense is from 1825, originally for grain. Elevator music is from 1970s. El, Amer.Eng. abbrev. of "elevated railroad" is first recorded 1906 in O. Henry. Elevator shoes patented 1940.
eleven: O.E. endleofan, lit. "one left" (over ten), from P.Gmc. *ainlif- (cf. Goth. ain-lif), a compound of *ain "one" + PIE *leikw- "leave, remain" (cf. Gk. leipein "to leave behind;" see relinquish). Viking survivors who escaped an Anglo-Saxon victory were daroþa laf "the leavings of spears," while hamora laf "the leavings of hammers" was an O.E. kenning for "swords" (both from "The Battle of Brunanburgh"). Eng. twelve reflects the same formation; outside Gmc. the only instance of this formation is in Lith., which uses it all the way to 19 (vienio-lika "eleven," dvy-lika "twelve," try-lika "thirteen," keturio-lika "fourteen," etc.) Phrase eleventh hour is from Matthew xx:1-16.
FIREFLY: Give me a number from 1 to 10.
CHICOLINI: eleven!
FIREFLY: Right!
elf: "race of powerful supernatural beings in Gmc. folklore," O.E. elf, ælf, from P.Gmc. *albiz, origin unknown, possibly from PIE *albho- "white." A popular component in Anglo-Saxon names, many of which survive as modern given names and surnames, cf. Ælfræd "Elf-counsel" (Alfred), Ælfwine "Elf-friend" (Alvin), Ælfric "Elf-ruler" (Eldridge), also women's names such as Ælfflæd "Elf-beauty." Elf Lock hair tangled, especially by Queen Mab, "which it was not fortunate to disentangle" [according to Robert Nares' glossary of Shakespeare] is from 1592. Elvish (adj.) attested from c.1340.
Elgin Marbles: 1809, sculptures and marbles (especially from the frieze of the Parthenon) brought to England and sold to the British government by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766-1841).
Eli: male proper name, in O.T., name of a high priest of Israel, teacher of Samuel, from Heb., lit. "high."
elicit: 1624, from L. elicitus, pp. of elicere "draw forth," from ex- "out" + -licere, comb. form of lacere "to entice."
elide: 1593, a legal term, "to annul, do away with," from M.Fr. elider, from L. elidere "strike out," from ex- "out" + -lidere, comb. form of laedere "to strike." Phonological sense is first recorded 1796.
eligible: 1561, from M.Fr. eligible "fit to be chosen," from L.L. eligibilis "that may be chosen," from L. eligere "choose" (see election).
Elijah: name of the great O.T. prophet, from Heb. Elijjah, lit. "the Lord is God." The Gk. form is Elias.
eliminate: 1568, from L. eliminatus, pp. of eliminare "thrust out of doors, expel," from ex limine "off the threshold," from ex "off, out" + limine, abl. of limen "threshold." Used literally at first; sense of "exclude" first attested 1714; sense of "expel waste from the body" is c.1795.
Eliot: surname is O.Fr. dim. of Elias (Elie + -ot, from Gk. Elias, the Gk. form of Heb. Elijah, q.v.), absorbing O.E. proper name Æðelgeat, also Ælfweald "Elf-ruler."
Elisha: male proper name, from Heb., lit. "God is salvation," from El "God" + yesha "salvation."
elite: 1823, from Fr. élite "selection, choice," from O.Fr. fem. pp. of elire, elisre "pick out, choose," from L. eligere "choose" (see election). Borrowed in M.E. as "chosen person," esp. a bishop-elect, died out c.1450, re-introduced by Byron's "Don Juan." As a typeface, first recorded 1920. Elitist, elitism are first attested 1950 (the original examples were Freud, Nietzsche, and Carlyle).
elixir: 1266, from M.L. elixir "philosopher's stone," believed by alchemists to transmute baser metals into gold and/or to cure diseases and prolong life, from Arabic al-iksir, probably from late Gk. xerion "powder for drying wounds," from xeros "dry." General sense of "strong tonic" is 1597; used for quack medicines from at least 1631.
Elizabeth: fem. proper name, Biblical name of the wife of Aaron, from Heb. Elishebha "God is an oath," the second element said by Klein to be related to shivah (fem. sheva) "seven," and to nishba "he swore," originally "he bound himself by (the sacred number) seven." Has never ranked lower than 26th in popularity among the names given to baby girls in the U.S. in any year since 1880, the oldest for which a reliable list is available.
Elizabethan (adj.): 1807 (Elizabethean); Coleridge (1817) has Elizabethian, and Carlyle (1840) finally attains the modern form. "Belonging to the period of Queen Elizabeth I" (1558-1603). The noun is first attested 1881. See Elizabeth.
elk: late O.E., from O.N. elgr or O.E. elh, eolh, or possibly M.H.G. elch, all from P.Gmc. *elkh-, related to the general word for "deer" in Gk. and Balto-Slavic, from PIE *ol-/*el- "red, brown" (in animal and tree names) perhaps with reference to the reddish color (cf. Skt. harina- "deer," from hari- "reddish-brown"). Gk. alke and L. alces are Gmc. loan-words. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks founded N.Y.C. 1868, originally a society of actors and writers.
ell: O.E. eln "unit of measure of 45 inches," originally "length of the arm," from PIE *el- "elbow, forearm" (cf. Gk. olene "elbow," L. ulna, Arm. uln "shoulder," Skt. anih "part of the leg above the knee," Lith. alkune "elbow"). The exact distance varied, depending on whose arm was used as the base and whether it was measured from the shoulder to the fingertip or the wrist: the Scot. ell was 37.2 inches, the Flem. 27 inches. L. ulna also was a unit of linear measure.
"Whereas shee tooke an inche of liberty before, tooke an ell afterwardes" [1580].
Sense of "building extension" is Amer.Eng. 1773, for resemblance to the shape of the alphabet letter.
Ella: fem. proper name, when not a dim. of Eleanor, it is from O.H.G. Alia, from al "all."
Ellen: fem. proper name, an older form of Helen (q.v.).
ellipse: 1656 (implied in ellpitical), from Fr. ellipse, from L. ellipsis "ellipse," also, "a falling short, deficit," from Gk. elleipsis (see ellipse), because the conic section of the cutting plane makes a smaller angle with the base than does the side of the cone, hence, a "falling short." First applied by Apollonius of Perga (3c. B.C.E.).
ellipsis: 1570, from L. ellipsis, from Gk. elleipsis "a falling short, defect, ellipse," from elleipein "to fall short, leave out," from en- "in" + leipein "to leave" (see relinquish). Grammatical sense first recorded 1612.
Ellis Island: sandy island in mouth of Hudson River, said to have been called "Gull Island" by local Indians and "Oyster Island" by the Du., renamed "Gull Island" after the British took over, then "Gibbet Island" because pirates were hanged there. Sold to Samuel Ellis in 1785, who made it a picnic spot and gave it his name. Sold by his heirs in 1808 to New York State and acquired that year by the U.S. War Department for coastal defenses. Vacant after the American Civil War until the government opened an immigration station there in 1892 to replace Castle Island.
elm: O.E. elm, from P.Gmc. *elmaz (cf. Dan. elm, O.N. almr, O.H.G. elme), from PIE root cognate with L. ulmus, O.Ir. lem.
Elmo: of St. Elmo's Fire, probably from Gk. elene "torch," via an apocryphal saint.
elocution: c.1500, from L.L. elocutionem (nom. elocutio) "voice production, manner of expression," in classical L. "oratorical expression," from eloqui "speak out."
Elohim: a name of God in the Bible, 1605, from Heb., pl. (of majesty?) of Eloh "God," a word of unknown etymology, perhaps an augmentation of El "God," also of unknown origin. Generally taken as singular, the use of this word instead of Yahveh is taken by biblical scholars as an important clue to authorship in the O.T.
elongation: 1391, from L.L. elongationem (nom. elongatio), from elongare "remove to a distance," from L. ex- "out" + longus "long" (see long (adj.)). Elongate is c.1540. The Fr. form eloign was borrowed (1535) in the legal sense "to remove to a distance" (esp. to avoid the law).
elope: 1596, from Anglo-Fr. aloper "run away from a husband with one's lover" (1338), from O.Fr es- + M.E. lepen "run, leap," or M.Du. (out)lopen "run away." Sense of "lovers who run from parents to marry secretly" is 19c. The oldest Gmc. word for "wedding" is represented by O.E. brydlop (cf. O.H.G. bruthlauft, O.N. bruðhlaup), lit. "bridal run," the conducting of the woman to her new home.
eloquence: late 14c., from O.Fr. eloquence, from L. eloquentia, from eloquentem (nom. eloquens), prp. of eloqui "speak out," from ex- "out" + loqui "speak."
eloquent: late 14c., from Fr. éloquent, from L. eloquentem, prp. of eloqui "to speak out" (see eloquence).
else: O.E. elles "other, otherwise, different," from P.Gmc. *aljaz (cf. Goth. aljis "other," O.H.G. eli-lenti, O.E. el-lende, both meaning "in a foreign land;" see also Alsace), an adverbial genitive of the neut. of PIE base *al- "beyond" (cf. Gk. allos "other," L. alius; see alias). Synonym of other, the nuances of usage are often arbitrary. Elsewhere is O.E. elles hwær. It survived, but elsewhen (1418), elsewhat (O.E.), elsewho (c.1542) did not.
elucidate: 1568, from L.L. elucidatus, pp. of elucidare "make clear," from ex- "out, away" + lucidus "clear" (see lucid).
elude: 1530s, "delude, make a fool of," from L. eludere "escape from, make a fool of, win from at play," from ex- "out, away" + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Sense of "evade" is first recorded 1610s.
eluded: pp. adj. from elude.
elusive: 1719, from L. elus-, pp. stem of eludere (see elude).
Elysian: 1579, from Gk. Elysion pedion "Elysian field," where heroes and the virtuous live after death, from a pre-Gk. word of unknown origin.
em-: from Fr. assimilation of en- to following labial; also from L. ex-, assimilated to following -m-. Also a prefix used to form verbs from adjectives and nouns.
emaciate: 1640s, from L. emaciatus, pp. of emaciare "make lean, waste away," from ex- "out" + macies "leanness," from macer "thin" (see macro-).
emaciated: 1660s, pp. adj. from emaciate.
email: a type of pottery design pattern, c.1877, from Fr., lit. "enamel" (see enamel).
emanate: 1756, from L. emanat-, pp. stem of emanare (see emanation).
emanation: 1570, from L.L. emanationem (nom. emanatio), from L. emanare "flow out, arise, proceed," from ex- "out" + manare "to flow."