"E" Word Origins

Elise

French

From French Élise or German Elise, both variants of Elisabeth.

Elisha

Origin

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew אֱלִישָׁע (ʾĔlîšāʿ).

elision

Origin

From Latin ēlīsiō (“striking out, forcing out”) (whence -ion (“noun suffix denoting action, result, process, state, condition”)), from ēlīsus (“knocked out, forced out”), past participle of ēlīdō (“to knock, dash or strike out”) (whence elide), from ex- (“out, away”) + laedō (“to strike, collide, hurt”) (whence e- (“assimilated form of ex-”)).

elisjsha

Origin

A variant of Elijah.

Elissa

Ancient Greek

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἔλῐσσᾰ (Élĭssă); probably from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎𐤕 (ʾlʾst /⁠Elishat⁠/), 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎 (ʾlʾs /⁠Elisha⁠/).

elite

Latin

From French élite, "the chosen ones," from élire, "to elect" — ultimately the same Latin root as English "elect."

elixir

Ancient Greek

From Arabic al-iksir, "the philosopher's stone," itself borrowed from an ancient Greek word for a wound-drying powder.

Eliza

Origin

Shortened from Elizabeth.

Elizabeth

Hebrew

From Hebrew "Elisheva," from "el" (God) and "shava" (oath).

Elizabethan

Origin

Formed from the name Elizabeth plus the suffix -an, which turns a name into an adjective meaning "of or belonging to."

elk

Old English

From Old English eolh, going back to a very old Germanic and Indo-European word for a deer-like animal.

elke

Germanic

A pet form related to names beginning with the Germanic element meaning "noble."

ell

Old English

From Old English eln, "forearm," from an ancient root meaning "elbow" — the unit was originally just a forearm's length.

Ella

Origin

A 19th-century shortening of Eleanor or Ellen, later also used for any name ending in -ella, such as Gabriella or Daniella. Similar abbreviations have been formed independently in many European languages, for any name containing the syllable -el-, e.g. Elisabeth.

ellen

Old English

The given name comes from Greek Helen; the older noun sense is from Old English ellen, "zeal, strength, courage," a word that has fallen out of everyday use.

ellice

Origin

Variant spelling of Ellis.

Ellie

Origin

Diminutives: Clippings + -ie.

Ellingham

Origin

From the Old English personal name Ella + -ing (“belonging to”) + hām (“homestead”).

Ellington

Origin

From either the Old English personal name Ella or ǣl (“eel”) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

elliott

Origin

English surname derived from a Middle English diminutive of Elie, Old French form of Elias or Elijah, meaning "my God is Yahweh". As a Scottish surname it may also represent Gaelic Elloch from a word meaning a dam or bank.

ellipsis

Greek

From Greek elleipsis "omission, a falling short", from elleipein "to leave out", via Latin.

elliptic

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐλλειπτικός (elleiptikós), from ἐλλείπω (elleípō, “I leave out, omit”). By surface analysis, ellipse + -tic.

elliptical

Origin

From "ellipse" (an oval curve) plus the adjective ending "-al."

Ellis

Origin

* As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Elis, an Old French form of Elias. Compare Elijah, Lias, Ely. Also sometimes from the Elice, a pet form of Elizabeth. * As a Welsh surname, shortened from the personal name Elisse, Elisedd, from the archaic elus (“benevolent, kind”).

Ellison

Origin

From Ellis + -son.

Ellsworth

Origin

Variant of Elsworth.

ellwood

Origin

Variant of Elwood.

elm

Old English

From Old English elm, from a very old Germanic and Indo-European word for the tree.

elmbridge

Origin

Named after the old Elmbridge Hundred, derived from Old English *Amele (a former name of the river Mole) + brycġ (“bridge”).

Elmer

Old English

A medieval variant of the name Aylmer, from Old English words meaning "noble" and "famous"; the ham-radio sense comes from the given name being used informally for a friendly mentor figure.

elmhurst

Origin

From elm + hurst.

Elmo

Origin

From an Italian contraction of Erasmo, cognate with Erasmus. Also a German short form of Elmar. * By folk etymology seen as a short form of Elmer.

Elmore

Middle English

English surname, from Middle English Ailmer, from Old English Æþelmær.

Elms

Origin

Plural form of Elm.

elmwood

Origin

From elm + wood.

elocution

Latin

From Latin elocutio "a speaking out, manner of expression", from eloqui "to speak out".

elogy

Origin

From Latin ēlogium. Doublet of elogium.

Elohim

Hebrew

Hebrew אֱלֹהִים, the plural of 'eloah', related to the older Semitic word 'el' meaning god or deity.

elon

Origin

Taken from a trade name for the chemical, shortened from its full chemical description.

elongate

Origin

From Late Middle English elongat, elongate (“kept away; different or remote in nature”, adjective), borrowed from Late Latin ēlongātus (“having been stretched out, elongated; prolonged, protracted; having been kept aloof, removed”) + Middle English -at (suffix forming participles). Ēlongātus is the perfect passive participle of ēlongō (“to prolong, protract; to keep aloof, remove; to depart, withdraw”), from Latin ē- (a variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + longus (“extended, long, prolonged; far”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos (“long”, adjective)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Doublet of eloign. Cognates * French éloigner

elope

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman aloper, "to run away," ultimately related to the verb "leap."

eloquence

Latin

From Latin eloquentia, from eloqui, "to speak out."

eloquent

Latin

From Latin eloquens, "speaking out," the present participle of eloqui, "to speak out."

eloquently

Middle English

From Middle English eloquently, eloquentely, equivalent to eloquent + -ly.

elouise

Origin

Alternative form of Eloise, influenced by Louise.

elrick

Origin

Variant of Aldrich.

Elsa

German

From German Elsa, contraction of Elisabeth, occasionally used in English after its appearance in Wagner's opera Lohengrin (1847).

else

Middle English

From Middle English ells, elles, from Old English elles (“other, otherwise, different”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljas, from Proto-Germanic *aljas (“of another, of something else”), genitive of *aljaz (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos, from *h₂el- (“other”). Cognate with Old Frisian elles (“other”), Old High German elles, ellies (“other”), Danish eller (“or”), Danish ellers (“otherwise”), Swedish eljes, eljest (“or else, otherwise”), Norwegian elles (“else, otherwise”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos), Arcadocypriot αἶλος (aîlos), modern Greek αλλιώς (alliós, “otherwise, else”), Proto-Slavic *olni.