elite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /iˈliːt/, /eɪˈliːt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French élite (“selection, choice”),^[2][3][4] a noun use of the feminine of Old French eslit, the past participle of eslire “to choose”,^[2][3][5] from Vulgar Latin *exligere, an alteration of ēligere (“to choose”) under the influence of ex-.^[3][5][4] It is related to elect.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The choice or best part of a society or group: 1823, in Byron's Don Juan.^[3][2][6] NODE and the SOED date it to the late 18th century.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Middle English had already borrowed elite from Old French, as “a person elected”, especially a bishop-elect, from 1387; it was still in use in 1450 but then died out.^[6][3][2] Byron reintroduced the word.^[2] As an adjective it is from 1852,^[2] and as a typewriter type size, twelve characters to the inch, from 1920.^[6][2]

Timeline

• 1387 – a person elected (obsolete).^[6]
• 1823 – the best part of society.^[3]
• 1852 – the adjective.^[2]
• 1920 – a typewriter type size.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of people with the most power, wealth or talent in a society.
2. The best or most skilled members of a group.
3. A size of typewriter type with twelve characters to the inch.

Adjective

1. Of or belonging to an elite; select and superior.

Word family

• antielite
• nonelite
• superelite
• power elite

Related words

• elect
• elitism
• elegant
• eligible
• select
• selection
• election
• elitist

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press