ell

Translingual

Symbol

ell

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2/T & ISO 639-3 language code for Greek.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1

From Middle English elle, elne, from Old English eln (“the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger; a unit of measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *alinu, from Proto-Germanic *alinō, from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l-én-eh₂, from *Heh₃l- (“elbow, forearm”).

Cognate with Dutch el (“ell”), German Low German Ell (“ell”), German Elle (“ell”), Swedish aln (“cubit; ell”), Icelandic alin (“cubit; ell”), Latin ulna (“forearm”).

Noun

ell (plural ells)

1. (historical) A measure of length. An English ell was 1¼ yards (45 inches or 114 cm), a Scottish ell was about 37 inches (94 cm), a Flemish ell was ¾ yard (27 inches or 69 cm), while certain European ells were less than 50 cm.
   • 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 51:

     At certain times in the ice-mountains of Switzerland there happen cracks which have shewn the great thickness of the ice, as some of these cracks have measured three or four hundred ells deep.

   • 1841, Charles Dickens, chapter XXX, in Barnaby Rudge:

     A homely proverb recognises the existence of a troublesome class of persons who, having an inch conceded them, will take an ell.

   • 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 19:

     Berkhyas is described as being a mountain in size, his face black, his body covered with hair, his neck like that of a dragon, two boar's tusks from his mouth, his eyes wells of blood, his hair bristling like needles, his height 140 ells, his breadth 17, pigeons nestling in his snaky locks.

   • 1910, Henry James, The Finer Grain:

     If he had imputed to them conditions it was all his own doing: it came from his inveterate habit of abysmal imputation, the snatching of the ell wherever the inch peeped out, without which where would have been the tolerability of life?

Derived terms

• give them an inch and they'll take an ell

Translations

Etymology 2

From the name of the letter L.

Noun

ell (plural ells)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter L. (more commonly el)
   • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

     I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time.

2. An extension usually at right angles to one end of a building.
   • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 4, in The Whisperer in Darkness:

     I could hear them snapping and tearing around, and then one managed to get on the roof by jumping from the low ell.

3. Something that is L-shaped.

Alternative forms

• el

Derived terms

• effell

Translations

Anagrams

• LEL, lel

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin ille. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian)

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eʎ

Pronoun

ell (plural ells)

1. he

Declension

References

Further reading

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

Estonian

Noun

ell (genitive , partitive )

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

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlː/

Noun

ell n (genitive singular els, plural ell)

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

Declension

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) bókstavur; a / fyrra a, á, be, de, edd, e, eff, ge, há, i / fyrra i, í / fyrra í, jodd, ká, ell, emm, enn, o, ó, pe, err, ess, te, u, ú, ve, seinna i, seinna í, seinna a, ø

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ɛlː

Noun

ell

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

Declension

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) betű; a, á, bé, cé, csé, dé, dzé, dzsé, e, é, eff, gé, gyé, há, i, í, jé, ká, ell, ellipszilon / elly / ejj, emm, enn, enny, o, ó, ö, ő, pé, kú, err, ess, essz, té, tyé, u, ú, ü, ű, vé, dupla vé / vevé, iksz, ipszilon, zé, zsé. (See also: Latin script letters.)

Further reading

• l 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
• ell , redirecting to ellik and l in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛtl/
• Rhymes: -ɛtl

Noun

ell n (genitive singular ells, nominative plural ell)

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

Declension

Võro

Noun

ell (genitive , partitive )

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

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.