Etymologically
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elite

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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

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