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élite

Etymology and origin of the French word élite

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1176, Chrétien de Troyes
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French élite
English elite

Forms

élite f (plural élites)[1] Old French eslite, élite from the 16th century.[2]

Etymology

It is the feminine, used as a noun, of eslit (“chosen”) (12th–16th century), the old past participle of élire (“to choose, elect”),[3][4][5][6] which modern French has replaced by “élu”.[1] “Élire” is Vulgar Latin “*exlegere”, remade from Latin ēligere (“to pick out”) after “legere”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès (1176) has a vostre eslite “at your choice”;[3][4] the sense “choice” lasted until the 16th century (Berte: trestout à vostre eslite).[5][7]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 14th century (Christine de Pisan, Froissart's cinq cents lances à l'elite de tous les meilleurs d'Escosse) it meant the best of anything.[3][4][7] Modern French no longer uses it of things, only of the best people in a group, qualified (l'élite intellectuelle) or not (l'élite); classical French did not give it today's evaluative value.[4][8] D'élite first appears in troupe d'élite (1641, figuratively), extended in the 19th century (tireur d'élite), and the plural les élites (1928) names those in the first rank in every field.[4][8] The mid-20th century formed élitaire, élitisme (about 1967) and élitiste (about 1968).[4] In the Swiss army l'élite was the first levy, of men aged 20 to 32.[4][9]

English took elite from French in 1823 (Byron's Don Juan), after an earlier Middle English elite “bishop-elect” had died out.[10]

Timeline

  • 1176 – A vostre eslite in Chrétien de Troyes.[3]
  • Late 14th century – “The best”, in Christine de Pisan.[3]
  • 1641 – Troupe d'élite.[4]
  • 1823 – English elite.[10]
  • 1844 – D'élite extended.[4]
  • 1928 – Les élites.[4]
  • c. 1967 – Élitisme.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The elite, the best (of a group): l'élite de la classe, l'élite intellectuelle.[8][2]
  2. (plural) The elites, the leading people: les élites locales.[8][9]
  3. D'élite: elite, crack, first-rate: tireur d'élite, troupes d'élite.[8][9]
  4. (Switzerland, military) The first levy (men aged 20 to 32).[9][4]

Word family

  • élitisme
  • élitiste
  • élitaire

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Élite.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9lite. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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