ell en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈɛl/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English elle, elne, from Old English eln (“the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger; a unit of measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *alinu, from Proto-Germanic *alinō, from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l-én-eh₂, from *Heh₃l- (“elbow, forearm”). Cognate with Dutch el (“ell”), German Low German Ell (“ell”), German Elle (“ell”), Swedish aln (“cubit; ell”), Icelandic alin (“cubit; ell”), Latin ulna (“forearm”).
Meanings
-
(historical) A measure of length. An English ell was 1¼ yards (45 inches or 114 cm), a Scottish ell was about 37 inches (94 cm), a Flemish ell was ¾ yard (27 inches or 69 cm), while certain European ells were less than 50 cm.
Berkhyas is described as being a mountain in size, his face black, his body covered with hair, his neck like that of a dragon, two boar's tusks from his mouth, his eyes wells of blood, his hair bristling like needles, his height 140 ells, his breadth 17, pigeons nestling in his snaky locks.
1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 19:At certain times in the ice-mountains of Switzerland there happen cracks which have shewn the great thickness of the ice, as some of these cracks have measured three or four hundred ells deep.
1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 51:A homely proverb recognises the existence of a troublesome class of persons who, having an inch conceded them, will take an ell.
1841, Charles Dickens, chapter XXX, in Barnaby Rudge:‘Taffety brocade at ten shillings an ell at Simon Snippets, the woman’s tailor, now quite ruined. I shall go distracted.’
1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 56:If he had imputed to them conditions it was all his own doing: it came from his inveterate habit of abysmal imputation, the snatching of the ell wherever the inch peeped out, without which where would have been the tolerability of life?
1910, Henry James, The Finer Grain:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ells | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
ellwand · give them an inch and they'll take an ell · elbow
Translations (19)
de Elle (measure of cloth) · ca alna (measure of cloth) · es alna (measure of cloth) · no alen (measure of cloth) · sv aln (measure of cloth) · da alen (measure of cloth) · pt vara (measure of cloth) · es ana (measure of cloth) · fr aune (measure of cloth) · tr arşın (measure of cloth) · nl el (measure of cloth) · fi kyynärä (measure of cloth) · mk ла́кот (measure of cloth) · cs loket (measure of cloth) · izh kyynärä (measure of cloth) · fo alin (measure of cloth) · mk лакт (measure of cloth) · ru локоть (measure of cloth) · hu rőf (measure of cloth)