el

English Online Dictionary. What means el‎? What does el mean?

Translingual

Symbol

el

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Greek.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛl/, [ɛɫ]
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1

From Middle English, from Old English el, from Latin el (the name of the letter L).

Alternative forms

• L
• ell

Noun

el (plural els)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l.

Derived terms

• elpee

Translations

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• L

Noun

el (plural els)

1. (US) An elevated railway, especially for specific systems such as the metro in Chicago.

Translations

Etymology 3

Shortening of eleven.

Numeral

el

1. The cardinal number occurring after dek and before do in a duodecimal system. Written ↋, decimal value 11.

Etymology 4

From Spanish el.

Article

el

1. (informal, humorous, chiefly Internet slang) The (sometimes where "the" would not occur in normal English).

Etymology 5

Noun

el (plural els)

1. The name of the unspecified script letter Л / л.

Anagrams

• -le, LE, Le, LαE, le

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

el

1. him (direct object)

   Synonym: lo

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• elu

Etymology

From Latin ille, possibly through a Vulgar Latin *illus. Compare Romanian el, Megleno-Romanian iel.

Pronoun

el m (plural elj)

1. (third-person masculine singular pronoun, nominative form) he

   Synonym: nãs

Pronoun

el m

1. (long/stressed accusative form) him

Related terms

• ea/ia (feminine equivalent (third-person singular nominative))
• elj (masculine or mixed plural), eali (feminine plural)
• ãl/ul/lu (masculine singular accusative- short/unstressed form)
• (a) lui (masculine singular genitive and masculine singular dative- long/stressed form)
• ãlj/ilj/lji (masculine singular dative- short/unstressed form)

See also

• io/iou, mini (first-person singular)
• tu, tini (second-person singular)
• noi (first-person plural)
• voi (second-person plural)
• nãsh, elj (third-person (masculine or mixed) plural)

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ille, illum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/, [el]

Article

el m sg (feminine la, neuter lo, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

1. (definite) the

Usage notes

• The article el contracts to l’ before a word beginning with a vowel or h: l'asturianu (the Asturian), l'hermanu (the brother)
• The article el contracts to ’l after a word that ends in a vowel, if the following word begins with a consonant.

Derived terms

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ēl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/

Noun

el (definite accusative eli, plural ellər)

1. (somewhat poetic) people
2. (somewhat poetic) country, land
3. (somewhat poetic) tract, region, district, province

Declension

Derived terms

• el-oba

Breton

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

Contraction

el

1. e (preposition “in”) + ul (indefinite article “a(n)”)
2. e (preposition “in”) + al (definite article “the”)

Catalan

Alternative forms

• es (salat) in Balearic dialects.
• lo (colloquial) in North occidental dialects.

Etymology

From earlier lo, from Latin illum, from Latin ille. The initial e- was inserted as an epenthetic vowel after the unstressed -o had begun to be dropped.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /əl/
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /el/

Article

el m (feminine la, masculine plural els, feminine plural les)

1. the; definite article
2. neuter definite article used to make abstract nouns from adjectives; the; what, that which

   el bo i el dolent ― the good and the bad

   el que hem de fer ― what we have to do

Usage notes

• Before a word that begins with a vowel or silent h- followed by a vowel, the form l' is used.

See also

• en, masculine singular definite article for given names.

Pronoun

el (proclitic, contracted l', enclitic lo, contracted enclitic 'l)

1. him (direct object)

Usage notes

• el is the reinforced (reforçada) form of the pronoun. It is used before verbs beginning with a consonant.

  Ella el considerava estúpid. ― She regarded him as stupid.

Declension

Further reading

• “el” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “el”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “el” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “el” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish êl, eyl, eal, from Old Cornish ail, a borrowing from Proto-Brythonic *angel, from Latin angelus, from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos). Cognate with Breton ael, Welsh angel.

Noun

el m (plural eledh)

1. (religion) angel

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Noun

el

1. hand, forearm
2. ell

Declension

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛl]

Noun

el n (indeclinable)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l.

Further reading

• “el”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “el”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• lo

Etymology

From Latin ille, illud.

Article

el

1. the; masculine singular definite article

Related terms

• i
• la

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse elri (“alder”), cf. ǫlr (compare Icelandic elri, Swedish al, Norwegian Bokmål older), from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō (compare English alder), variant of *alizō, *alisō (compare Dutch els, German Erle), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛlˀ]

Noun

el c (singular definite ellen, plural indefinite elle)

1. alder

Inflection

Etymology 2

Introduced in the 1940’s after Swedish el, abbreviation of elektricitet (“electricity”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛl]

Noun

el c (singular definite ellen, not used in plural form)

1. electricity

   Synonym: strøm

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch elne, elle, from Old Dutch *elina, from Proto-West Germanic *alinu. Cognate with English ell, German Low German Ell, German Elle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/
• Hyphenation: el
• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Homophone: Ell

Noun

el f or m (plural ellen, diminutive elletje n)

1. (archaic) a unit of length corresponding to about 69 cm: ell, cubit

Derived terms

• elleboog
• ellepijp
• ellenlang

Descendants

• Negerhollands: el
• → Caribbean Javanese: élo
• → Sundanese: élo

Emilian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/
• Hyphenation: el

Pronoun

el (personal)

1. (nominative case, feminine) they
2. (accusative case, feminine) them

Alternative forms

• Becomes elj- before a vowel.
• Becomes -li when acting as an enclitic.

Related terms

Esperanto

Etymology

Obscure; may be derived from Latin ex (“out of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [el]
• Hyphenation: el

Preposition

el

1. made of

   Tio estas ĉemizo el silko ― This is a shirt made of silk.

2. from (of)

   Antonym: al

Derived terms

Fala

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈel/
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: el

Pronoun

el m sg (plural elis, feminine ela, feminine plural elas)

1. Third person singular masculine nominative pronoun; he

See also

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[2], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illa.

Pronoun

el f (postpositive -el) (ORB, broad)

1. she, it (third-person singular feminine nominative)

See also

References

• elle [1] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• el in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Galician

Alternative forms

• ile, il
• ele (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈel/

Pronoun

el m (accusative o, dative lle)

1. he
2. it (impersonal pronoun, optative subject of impersonal verbs)

   El chove ― It rains

3. it (optatively, can introduce a question)

   Que cousa preciosa! El será pecado? ― What a precious thing! Could it be a sin?

Usage notes

The accusative form o has variant forms lo and no. These alternative forms appear depending on the ending of the preceding word. The form lo is used when the preceding word ends in -r or -s. The no form is used when the preceding word ends in -u or a diphthong. These alternative forms are then suffixed to the preceding word.

The accusative also forms contractions when it immediately follows an indirect object pronoun. For example, dou che o contracts to doucho (“I gave it to you”).

Related terms

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “el”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “el”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “el”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “el”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese ele. Cognate with Kabuverdianu el.

Pronoun

el

1. he, she (third person singular)

Hungarian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛl]
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Adverb

el

1. off

   El a kezekkel! ― Hands off!

2. away

Usage notes

This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with el-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (“they could have seen it”, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see el-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

• Anna elment? Nem ment el. ― Has Anna left [gone away]? No, she has not.

Derived terms

Interjection

el

1. (intransitive, drama) exit, exeunt; he/she leaves or they leave the scene or stage (stage direction for an actor or multiple actors)

   Antonym: jön (“s/he comes”)

See also

Further reading

• el in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• el in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Anagrams

• le

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛːl/
• Rhymes: -ɛːl

Verb

el

1. first-person singular present indicative of ala

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/, /ɛl/

Pronoun

el (plural eli, possessive elua, possessive plural elui)

1. Apocopic form of elu; she, her

See also

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch el.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛl]

Noun

èl

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet

Further reading

• “el” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Istriot

Etymology 1

From Latin illum < ille.

Pronoun

el

1. he third-person singular masculine personal pronoun

Related terms

• gila

Etymology 2

From Latin ille.

Article

el m sg (feminine la)

1. the

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈel/
• Rhymes: -el
• Hyphenation: él
• (stressed, determiner) IPA^(key): /ˈel/
  • Hyphenation: él
• (unstressed, article and contraction) IPA^(key): /el/

Article

el m sg

1. Archaic and regional form of il

Pronoun

el m

1. (rare, literary) Apocopic form of ello

Contraction

el

1. (obsolete) Contraction of e il: and the

Alternative forms

• e'l

Anagrams

• -le, LE, Le, le

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Derived from English hell

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

Noun

el (plural el dem, quantified el)

1. (religion) hell

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese ele.

Pronoun

el

1. he, she (third person singular)

Kabyle

Verb

el (verbal noun ayla)

1. (obsolete) to have, own, possess

   Synonyms: sɛu, ɣur

2. (obsolete) to belong to

Usage notes

This verb's conjugation has fallen into general disuse by the 19th century, with only its past participle ilan surviving in various expressions. Its verbal noun, ayla (“possession”), remains in vigorous use.

Ladino

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/

Article

el (Hebrew spelling איל, plural los, feminine la)

1. the (masculine singular)

Pronoun

el (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling איל)

1. he, it

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /el/, [ɛɫ̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /el/, [ɛl]

Noun

el f (indeclinable)

1. The name of the letter L.

Usage notes

• Multiple Latin names for the letter L, l have been suggested. The most common is el or a syllabic l, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, lē, ll, əl, lə, and even (in the fourth- or fifth-century first Antinoë papyrus(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?), which gives Greek transliterations of the Latin names of the Roman alphabet’s letters) ιλλε (ille).

Coordinate terms

• (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

References

• el in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), especially pages 30–31, 42–44, and 63

Latvian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛl]

Noun

el m (invariable)

1. The Latvian name of the Latin script letter L/l.

See also

• Latvian letter names:

  a (A), garais ā (Ā), bē (B), cē (C), čē (Č), dē (D), e (E), garais ē (Ē), ef (F), gā (G), ģē (Ģ), hā (H), i (I), garais ī (Ī), jē (J), kā (K), ķē (Ķ), el (L), eļ (Ļ), em (M), en (N), eņ (Ņ), o (O), pē (P), er (R), es (S), eš (Š), tē (T), u (U), garais ū (Ū), vē (V), zē (Z), žē (Ž)

Leonese

Etymology

From Latin ille.

Article

el m sg (feminine la, neuter lu, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

1. the (definite article)

Usage notes

• The prepositions a, de, pa, cun, en and pur contract with el, unless el is part of a proper noun.

  ‎a + ‎el → ‎al

  ‎de + ‎el → ‎del

  ‎pa + ‎el → ‎pal

  ‎cun + ‎el → ‎cul

  ‎en + ‎el → ‎nel

  ‎pur + ‎el → ‎pul

• The article el contracts to l' before a word beginning with a vowel or h:

  l'home ― the man

  fala l'home ― the man is speaking

• The article 'el contracts to 'l after a word that ends in a vowel, if the following word begins with a consonant.

  fala'l neñu ― the child is speaking

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

Noun

el m inan

1. The name of the Latin-script letter l/L.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *elli, from Proto-West Germanic *alljas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/

Determiner

el

1. other, another

Adverb

el

1. else, otherwise
2. elsewhere

Further reading

• “el (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “el, els”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “el (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “el (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II

Middle English

Alternative forms

• eel, ele, hele, iel, yele

Etymology

From Old English ǣl, from Proto-West Germanic *āl, from Proto-Germanic *ēlaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛːl/, /eːl/

Noun

el (plural eles)

1. eel

Descendants

• English: eel
• Scots: eel
• Yola: eale

References

• “ēl(e, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-03.

Middle Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːl/

Verb

el

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of mynet

Mirandese

Pronoun

el

1. he

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish el.

Noun

el

1. short form of elektrisitet, elektrisk, elektro-, used mainly in compound words. It is treated as a noun rather than a prefix, in the same manner as Swedish.

Derived terms

• elbil
• elmotor

References

• “el” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Swedish el.

Noun

el n

1. short form of elektrisitet, elektrisk, elektro-, used mainly in compound words. It is treated as a noun rather than a prefix, in the same manner as Swedish.

Derived terms

• elbil
• elmotor

Etymology 2

From Old Norse él.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːl/

Noun

el n (definite singular elet, indefinite plural el, definite plural ela)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {}.

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

el

1. present tense of ala

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

el

1. present tense of elja

References

• “el” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan [Term?], from Latin ille.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

el

1. he (third-person singular subject pronoun)
2. it (third-person singular subject pronoun)

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/

Noun

el m

1. el, the letter L

Old French

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• enl (very rare)

Contraction

el

1. Contraction of en le (“in the”).

Etymology 2

From Latin alius.

Pronoun

el

1. something else

Old Galician-Portuguese

Pronoun

el

1. Apocopic form of ele

   • fugiu con el a Egipto. terra de Reẏ Faraon.

     ran away with him to Egypt, land of the Pharaoh king.

Old Norse

Verb

el

1. first-person singular active present indicative of ala

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin ille. Akin to Catalan el and Spanish el.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: el

Article

el m sg

1. Only used in el-rei: the

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *illus, from Latin ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jel/

Pronoun

el m (third-person singular, plural ei, feminine equivalent ea)

1. (nominative form) he

   Synonym: (polite form) dumnealui

Declension

Pronoun

el m (stressed accusative form of el)

1. (direct object, preceded by preposition, such as "pe", "cu", "la", or "pentru") him

Related terms

• ea (third-person feminine singular)
• ei (third-person masculine plural)
• ele (third-person feminine plural)

See also

Romansch

Etymology

From Latin ille.

Pronoun

el

1. he

Salar

Etymology

Cognate with Turkmen, Turkish el (“hand”), Azerbaijani əl, Chuvash алӑ (ală), etc.

Pronunciation

• (Xunhua, Hualong, Qinghai, Ili, Xinjiang) IPA^(key): /el/
• (Mengda, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA^(key): /en/

Noun

el (3rd person possessive ili, plural eller)

1. (anatomy) hand

   Synonym: uc

References

• Potanin, G.N. (1893) “эль”, in Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголия (in Russian), page 428
• Yanchuk, Mikola Andriyovich (1893) “эль”, in Этнографическое ОбозрѢніе: Императорскаго Общества Любителей Естествознанія, Антропологіи и Этнографіи [Ethnographical Review: Imperial Society of Lovers of Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography]‎^[3] (in Russian), Moscow: Publication of the Ethnographic Department, page 33
• Rockhill, William Woodville (1894) “ell”, in Diary of a journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, page 374
• Poppe, Nicholas (1953). Remarks on The Salar Language. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 16(3/4), 438–477. [4]
• Kakuk, S. (1962). “Un Vocabulaire Salar.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 14, no. 2: 173–96. [5]
• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “el”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 323-324
• 林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985) “el”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar]‎^[6], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 19
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002) “el”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎^[7], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 88
• Dwyer, Arienne M. (2007) “el”, in Salar: A Study in Inner Asian Language Contact Processes: Part I: Phonology‎^[8], 1st edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, pages 43, 87
• 张, 进锋 (Ayso Cañ Cinfen) (2008) 乌璐别格 (Ulubeğ), 鄭初陽 (Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ), editors, Salar İbret Sözler 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar Proverbs]‎^[9], China Salar Youth League, page 12

• Ma, Chengjun, Han, Lianye, Ma, Weisheng (December 2010) “el”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 99
• “el” in Ölmez, Mehmet (2012 December) “Oğuzların En Doğudaki Kolu: Salırlar ve Dilleri [The Easternmost Branch of the Oghuzs: Salars and Their Language]”, in Türk Dili (in Turkish), volume CII, number 732, pages 38-43

• 马伟 [Ma Wei], 朝克 [Chao Ke] (2014) “el”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader]‎^[10], 1^st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 [Social Science Literature Press], →ISBN, page 108
• 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016) “el”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), page 107

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/ [el]
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: el

Etymology 1

From Latin ille.

Article

el (plural los, feminine la, feminine plural las, neuter lo)

1. masculine singular definite article; the

Usage notes

• The prepositions de and a contract with el, unless el is part of a proper noun.

• Spanish definite articles are used in some contexts where English uses possessive pronouns.

• Spanish definite articles are used when talking about a whole group in general or abstract notions, unlike English ones.

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Old Spanish ela, from Latin illa.

Article

el (feminine plural las)

1. feminine singular definite article used before nouns which start with a stressed /a/:

   el alma, las almas ― the soul, the souls

   el hacha, las hachas ― the axe, the axes

Further reading

• “el”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Anagrams

• le

Swedish

Etymology

A contraction of elektricitet or elektrisk, that must have taken place between 1920 and 1975. SAOB (letter E edited in 1921) does not mention this, but does mention the prefix elektro-. Lilla Focus (1961) mentions el- as a prefix, but not as a word of its own.

The use of el as a stand-alone word (not just a prefix) was discussed in Teknisk Tidskrift, 15 December 1934, referring to a proposal from "Fera", Föreningen för elektricitetens rationella användning, an association of electric power grid operators.

Man framhåller nämligen med bestämdhet, att "el" ej får betraktas som förkortning utan som en beteckning för allt som har med elektricitet att göra, avsedd att brukas enbart eller i sammansättningar som prefix eller suffix och aldrig tillsammans med punkt och bindestreck. Språkligt sett, kan väl ordet närmast betraktas som en ellips
Teknisk Tidskrift, 15 December 1934
Translation:
Indeed, it is firmly emphasized that "el" must not be regarded as an abbreviation but as a designation for everything related to electricity, intended for use solely or in combinations as a prefix or suffix, and never together with a period and hyphen. Linguistically, the word can be considered akin to an ellipsis.
Teknisk Tidskrift, 15 December 1934

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːl/
• Rhymes: -eːl

Noun

el c

1. electricity, electric current or power; Contraction of elektricitet. or elektrisk
   • 1957, used as a prefix, §14, Lag (1957:262) om allmän energiskatt

   • 1975, Håkan Winberg (m), speaking in the Riksdag on May 27 (protocol, page 264)

   • 1980, Rune Torwald (c), speaking in the Riksdag on January 11 (protocol, page 46)

2. (school slang) Short for el- och energiprogrammet.

Declension

Related terms

References

• el in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• el in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• le

Tagalog

Etymology

From English el, the English name of the letter L/l.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔel/ [ʔɛl]
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: el

Noun

el (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜎ᜔)

1. the name of the Latin-script letter L/l, in the Filipino alphabet

   Synonyms: (in the Abakada alphabet) la, (in the Abecedario) ele

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

Further reading

• “el”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [(ʔ)el]

Verb

el

1. Alternative form of eli (“to remember”)

Conjugation

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el/

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish ال (el), from Proto-Turkic *elig (“hand”), may be related to Proto-Turkic *ạl- (“to take”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰠𐰏 (elig), Uzbek ilik, Turkmen el, Gagauz el, Salar el, Southern Altai элӱ (elü, “wide finger”), Chuvash алӑ (ală), etc.

Noun

el (definite accusative eli, plural eller)

1. hand
2. round (stage of a sports competition)

3. round (individual ammunition shell)

Derived terms

• el arabası
• ele geçirmek

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish ایل (el), from Common Turkic *ēl (“people”).

Noun

el (definite accusative eli, plural eller)

1. a foreign person

Derived terms

• el gün

Etymology 3

From Ottoman Turkish ایل (el), from Proto-Turkic *ēl (“realm”). Doublet of il. Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] (él), Kazakh ел (el), Azerbaijani el, etc.

Noun

el (definite accusative eli, plural eller)

1. country, homeland, province

Declension

Derived terms

• elçi

Venetan

Alternative forms

• al — Belluno

Etymology

From Latin illum < ille.

Article

el m sg (plural i)

1. the

Related terms

• ła

Pronoun

el

1. he, she, it (used as an obligatory clitic pronoun following a verb)

   El can el magna i òsi. ― The dog (it) eats the bones.

Volapük

Article

el

1. the (used for all proper nouns and also foreign loanwords not yet assimilated into Volapük)

   El Karl binom ziom ela Katlin. ― Karl is Katlin's uncle.

Usage notes

• The article el is used to modify any kind of noun (proper or foreign) which is itself indeclinable in Volapük. Then, whenever that noun needs to be declined, the article el which modifies it is declined in its stead.

Declension

Derived terms

• hiel
• jiel

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

Noun

el f (plural eliau)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l.

Mutation

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) llythyren; a, bi, ec, èch, di, èdd, e, èf, èff, èg, eng, aetsh, i / i dot, je, ce, el, èll, em, en, o, pi, ffi, ciw, er, rhi, ès, ti, èth, u / u bedol / u gwpan, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd