el

Clipping of Greek Ελληνικά (Elliniká) or abbreviation of Ancient Greek Ἑλληνική (Hellēnikḗ).

el

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

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Greek terms

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛl/, [ɛɫ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl

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

• L
• ell

el (plural els)

1. The name of the Latin script letter L/l.
   • 1773 October, The Monthly Review Or Literary Journal Enlarged:

     The word length, which contains only four sounds l e ng th, is usually spell'd thus, el ee en gee tee aitch.

• elpee

• (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

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

• L

el (plural els)

2. (US) An elevated railway, especially for specific systems such as the metro in Chicago (informal)
   • 2012, Roger P. Roess, Gene Sansone, The Wheels That Drove New York, page 294:

     The main section of the Sixth Avenue El from Morris Street to Ninth Avenue and 53rd Street shut down on December 4, 1938.

Shortening of eleven.

el

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

Borrowed from Spanish el.

el

1. (informal, humorous, chiefly Internet slang) The (sometimes where "the" would not occur in normal English).
   • 2007, Richard Bachman, Blaze, page 125:

     " […] A sister of Joseph Gerard […] was found unconscious on the kitchen floor by the family cook early this morning. […] "
     […] What leads could they have, if the old lady was el zonko?

• le (French borrowing)

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

el (plural els)

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

• -le, LE, Le, LαE, le

From Latin ille (“that one”).

el

1. him (direct object)

   Synonym: lo

• elu

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

el m (plural elj)

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

   Synonym: nãs

el m

1. (long/stressed accusative form) him

• 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)

• 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)

From Latin ille, illum.

• IPA^(key): /el/ [el]

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

1. (definite) the

• 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.

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish ایل (ẹl), from Proto-Turkic *ēl.

• IPA^(key): /el/

• Audio:

  (file)

el (definite accusative eli, plural ellər)

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

• el-oba

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

el

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

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

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.

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /əl/, [əɫ], [ɔɫ]
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /el/

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

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

1. the; definite article

   El pare i el fill ― The father and the son

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

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

• en, masculine singular definite article for given names.

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

1. him (direct object)

• 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.

• “el”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “el”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “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.

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.

el m (plural eledh)

1. (religion) angel

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

el

1. hand, forearm
2. ell

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛl]

el n (indeclinable)

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

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

• lo

From Latin ille, illud.

el

1. the; masculine singular definite article

• i
• la

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.

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛlˀ]

el c (singular definite ellen, plural indefinite elle)

1. alder

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛl]

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

1. electricity

   Synonym: strøm

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: el
• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Homophone: Ell

el c (plural ellen, diminutive elletje n)

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

• elleboog
• ellepijp
• ellenlang

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

• IPA^(key): /el/
• Hyphenation: el

el (personal)

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

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

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

• IPA^(key): /el/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: el

el

1. made of

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

2. from (of)

   Antonym: al

   El kie vi venis?
   Mi venis el Nov-Jorko.

   Where did you come from?
   I came from New York.

   • 1906, Louis de Beaufront, Grammaire et exercices de la langue internationale espéranto:

     Li estas la plej riĉa homo el la mondo.

     He is the richest man in the world.

   • 1906, Louis de Beaufront, Grammaire et exercices de la langue internationale espéranto:

     Li estas la malplej riĉa el ni.

     He is the least rich of us.

From Latin ille (“that”).

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

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

1. Third person singular masculine nominative pronoun; he

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021), Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[2], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN, page 121

Inherited from Latin illa.

el f (postpositive -el) (ORB, broad)

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

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

Cyrillic		ел

• IPA^(key): /jel/

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish ال (el), from Proto-Turkic *elig. Compare Turkish el, Azerbaijani əl

el (definite accusative eli, plural ellär)

1. (anatomy) hand

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish یل (yẹl), from Proto-Turkic *yẹl. Compare Turkish and Azerbaijani yel.

el (definite accusative eli, plural ellär)

1. wind

   Synonyms: lüzgär, boran

2. storm

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish ایل (ẹl), from Proto-Turkic *ēl. Compare Turkish el.

el (definite accusative eli, plural ellär)

1. stranger, outsider

• N. A Baskakov, editor (1972), “ел”, in Gagauzsko-Russko-Moldavskij Slovarʹ [Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary], Moskva: Izdatelʹstvo Sovetskaja Enciklopedija, →ISBN, page 175
• Çebotar, Petri; Dron, Ion (2002), “el”, in Gagauzça-Rusça-Romınca Sözlük [Gagauz-Russian-Romanian Dictionary], Chișinău: Pontos Press, →ISBN, page 234
• Kopuşçu M. İ., Todorova S. A., Kiräkova T.İ., editors (2019), “el”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 5-12, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 61

• ile, il
• ele (reintegrationist)

From Latin ille (“that”).

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

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)
   • 1864, Francisco Mirás, Compendio de gramática gallega-castellana, page 60:

     Gallego. —O peor son os trabucos que abranquen todos os anos que si non fora eso, inda eu estale si o pechaba no que puxen.
     Hacendado. -¿Pues qué, cuántos trabucos tiene V?
     Gallego. —Carasto, inda no me chejan os emprejos da Corte para pajálos.
     Hacendado. -Vaya V. al diablo con sus trabucos emprejos y lenguaje, que maldito entiendo palabra. A Dios amigo.
     Gallego. —El oieu? veña acó Señor, eu lle nomearei todo polo craro.

     Galician. "The worst part is the tributes they snatch every year; if not for them, I'm damned if I don't win it on what I bid!"
     Landlord [speaking Spanish and misunderstanding what he said]. "So, how many blunderbusses do you have?"
     Galician. "Jis! The cattle in my stable is not even enough to pay for them!
     Landlord. "Go to hell with your blunderbusses, emprejos and language, I can't understand a word!
     Galician. "[Anyone] Did you hear that? Sir, come here! I'll explain all clearly to you!"

     (the text is full of false friends for a Spanish speaker)

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”).

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “el”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (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

From Portuguese ele. Cognate with Kabuverdianu el.

el

1. he, she (third person singular)

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛl]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl

el

1. off

   El a kezekkel! ― Hands off!

2. away
3. yes (used as an affirmative answer to a question containing a verb prefixed with el- or to emphasize a preceding statement, having the same value as the verb in question)

   A: Eladtátok a házat? - B: El. ― A: Did you sell the house? B: Yes.

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.

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”)

• el in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (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).

• le

• IPA^(key): /ɛːl/
• Rhymes: -ɛːl

el

1. first-person singular present indicative of ala

• IPA^(key): /el/, /ɛl/

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

1. apocopic form of elu; she, her

From Dutch el.

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/, [ɛl]

èl (plural el-el)

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

• (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

• “el”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

From Latin illum < ille.

el

1. he third-person singular masculine personal pronoun
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 128:

     Ch’in tu’l su’ fassulito el me metasse.

     That into his handkerchief he would put me.

• gila

From Latin ille.

el m sg (feminine la)

1. the

Inherited from Latin illum with deletion of second syllable.

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

el m sg

1. archaic and regional form of il

el m

1. (rare, literary) apocopic form of ello

el

1. (obsolete) contraction of e +‎ il: and the

• e'l

• -le, LE, Le, le

Derived from English hell.

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

el

1. (religion) hell
   • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:29:

     Ef unu rait yai a mek unu sin, tier it out an dash it we! Aftaraal it beta fi luuz onggl wan badi paat, dan di wol a di badi get fling dong a el.

     If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! After all, it is better to lose one body part than for the whole body to be thrown into hell.

From Portuguese ele.

el

1. he, she (third person singular)

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

• IPA^(key): /əl/

el (verbal noun ayla) (obsolete)

1. to have, own, possess

   Synonyms: sɛu, ɣur

2. to belong to

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.

• Dallet, Jean-Marie (1982), Dictionnaire kabyle-français: parler des At Mangellat, Algérie (in French), Paris, France

el (intransitive)

1. to exit; to go out

• IPA^(key): /el/

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

1. the (masculine singular)

el (Hebrew spelling איל)

1. he, it

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɛɫ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛl]

el f (indeclinable)

1. The name of the letter L.

• 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).

• (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

• “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

• IPA^(key): [ɛl]

• Audio:

  (file)

el m (invariable)

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

• 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)

From Latin ille.

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

1. the (definite article)

• 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

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

el m inan

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

• (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

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

• IPA^(key): /el/

el

1. other, another

el

1. else, otherwise
2. elsewhere

• “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

• eel, ele, hele, iel, yele

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

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̝ːl/, /eːl/

el (plural eles)

1. eel

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

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

• IPA^(key): /eːl/

el

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of mynet

el

1. he

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔel (“to challenge”).

el

1. to compete

el

1. to dress up for an occasion

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “el”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

Borrowed from Swedish el.

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.

• elbil
• elmotor

• “el” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Borrowed from Swedish el.

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.

• elbil
• elmotor

From Old Norse él.

• IPA^(key): /eːl/

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 {{rfdef}}.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

el

1. present tense of ala

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

el

1. present tense of elja

• “el” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

el

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

• IPA^(key): /el/

el m

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

• enl (very rare)

el

1. contraction of en +‎ le, literally “in the”
   • c. 1250, Marie de France, Equitan:

     m'est une anguisse el quer ferue, ki tut le cors me fet trembler

     Such a pain has pierced me in the heart, that it makes my whole body quiver

From Latin alius.

el

1. something else
   • c. 1150, Thomas d'Angleterre, Le Roman de Tristan, Champion Classiques edition, →ISBN, page 94, lines 857–8:

     ne puet en sun cuer el penser
     fors ço sul: Tristran amer.

     she cannot in her heart think of anything else
     apart from one thing: to love Tristan.

el

1. apocopic form of ele
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 14 (facsimile):

     fugiu con el a Egipto. terra de Reẏ Faraon.

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

el

1. first-person singular active present indicative of ala

Phonetic spelling of the letter.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Syllabification: el

el n (indeclinable)

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

• el in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Latin ille. Akin to Catalan el and Spanish el. False cognate of Arabic ال (al-).

• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Hyphenation: el

el m sg

1. only used in el-rei: the

• “el”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “el”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• ел (el) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *illus, from Latin ille.

• IPA^(key): /jel/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -el
• Hyphenation: el

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

1. (nominative form) he

   Synonym: (polite form) dumnealui

el m (stressed accusative form of el)

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

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

• “el”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

From Latin ille.

el

1. he

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

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

el (3rd person possessive ili, plural eller)

1. (anatomy) hand

   Synonym: oc

• Potanin, G.N. (1893), “эль”, in Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголия (in Russian), page 428
• Poyarkov, Alexei; Ladygin, Vasiliy (1893), “эль”, in “Салары. Этнографический очерк [The Salars: An Ethnographic Sketch]”, 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 ell
• Poppe, Nicholas (1953). Remarks on The Salar Language. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 16(3/4), 438–477. [4]
• Kakuk, S. (1962), “el”, in “Un Vocabulaire Salar”, in Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae‎^[5], volume 14, number 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, →ISBN, pages 173-196
• 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
• 进锋张 [Ayso Cañ Cinfen] (2008), 乌璐别格 [Ulubeğ], 鄭初陽 [Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ], editors, 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar İbret Sözler, 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 (December 2012), “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) (2016), “el”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 青海师范大学 (Qinghai Normal University), Unpublished finalized project manuscript (国家社会科学基金项目结项稿, 定稿; National Social Science Fund of China), page 107

• IPA^(key): /el/ [el]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: el

From Latin ille. False cognate of Arabic ال (al-).

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

1. masculine singular definite article; the
   • 2025 June 20, Randi Kaye and David von Blohn, “El ICE renueva acuerdo con el centro de detención que, según la agencia, no cumplía las normas”, in CNN en Español‎^[11]:

     En un correo electrónico, el ICE dijo a CNN que había determinado que Glades puede ayudar a “despejar la acumulación” de inmigrantes indocumentados en el país.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

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

  El libro del niño me enseñó sobre la oscilación de El Niño.

  The boy's book taught me about the oscillation of El Niño.

  Fuimos a El Salvador y le rezamos al Salvador.

  We went to El Salvador and prayed to the Savior.

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

  Tengo las manos sucias.

  My hands are dirty.

  Me duele la pierna.

  My leg hurts.

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

  Los guepardos son el animal terrestre más veloz.

  Cheetahs are the fastest land animal.

  El amor es siempre paciente y amable.

  Love is always patient and kind.

From Old Spanish ela, from Latin illa.

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

• “el”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• le

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.

• IPA^(key): /eːl/
• Rhymes: -eːl

el c

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

     elektrisk kraft som förbrukas för el-, gas-, värme- eller vattenförsörjning i andra kommuner

     electric power which is used for the supply of electricity, gas, heating or water in other municipalities

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

     Vidare är den del av marknaden som har den högsta betalningsförmågan, dvs. hushållen, inriktad på användning av el.

     Also the part of the market which has the highest purchasing power, i.e. the households, is set for the use of electricity.

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

     När man använder så stor andel av elen till att värma upp bostäder som ju bara utnyttjas vintertid och inte på sommaren, så får man stora säsongvariationer.

     When using so large a portion of the electricity to heat homes, something which is only used in the winter and not in the summer, one will get large seasonal variations.

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

   Jag går el.

   I study at the electrical engineering programme

   (literally, “I go electrical.”)

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

• le

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

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

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

• (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

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

• IPA^(key): [(ʔ)el]

el

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

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈel/

• Audio:

  (file)

From Ottoman Turkish ال (el), from Old Anatolian Turkish ال (el), from Proto-Turkic *elig (“hand”), may be related to Proto-Turkic *al- (“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.

el (definite accusative eli, plural eller)

1. hand
   • 2004, “Dursun Zaman”, in maNga, performed by maNga and Göksel:

     Her sabah doğan güneş / Bir sabah doğmaz oldu / Elleri ellerimden / Kayıp giden yıldız oldu / Gülünce ışık saçan / O gözler yaşla doldu / Ağlama duymaz artık / Bir varmış, bir yok oldu / Giderken bıraktığı / Bütün renkler siyah oldu / Üzülme anla artık / Belki de huzur buldu

     The sun that rises every morning / One day did not rise / Her hands slipped out of my hands / And turned into a shining star / She smiled and while spreading her light / Those eyes were filled with tears / Don’t cry, she won’t hear anymore / Once upon a time she lived / As she went away, all the colors / She left behind turned black / Don't be sad, understand / Maybe she found peace

2. possession

   elindeki her şeyi satmış ― he sold everything in his possession

3. round (stage of a sports competition)

   Her el sona kalan adam sensin.

   In every round you're the last man standing.

4. round (individual ammunition shell)

   İki el sıktı, ikisini de ıskaladı, sonra da bıçaklamaya çalıştı.

   He fired two rounds, whiffed both, and then he tried to knife him.

5. handle
6. (Samsun) because, cause

   onun elinden bir sürü şey çekti ― she suffered a lot because of him

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

el (definite accusative eli, plural eller)

1. country, homeland, province

   Synonyms: yurt, memleket

2. tribe
3. a foreign person
4. (collective) other people; foreigners, strangers
   1. any other person than oneself; others, other people
   2. any other person than the oneself and the people the spoken to
   3. any person that the one does not know or recognize, strangers, foreigners
   4. any person that is not a part of one's nation, tribe, family, clan etc.

   Synonym: el âlem

5. land, territory, region
6. (Uşak) city
7. (Mersin) residents of a certain place

• “el”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “el”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “el”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Tietze, Andreas (2009), “el”, in Tarihi ve Etimolojik Türkiye Türkçesi Lügati [Historical and Etymological Dictionary of Turkish] (in Turkish), volume II, Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, page 578
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “il1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 2132
• “el”, in Türkiye'de halk ağzından derleme sözlüğü [Compilation Dictionary of Popular Speech in Turkey] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1963–1982

• al (Belluno)

From Latin illum < ille.

el m sg (plural i)

1. the

• ła

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.

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.

• 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.

• hiel
• jiel

• IPA^(key): /ɛl/

el f (plural eliau)

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

• (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

• ell

el m

1. (obsolete, units of measure) ell

   Synonym: hirlath