Elite, ā-lēt, n. a chosen or select part: the best of anything. [Fr. élite—L. electa (pars, a part, understood). See Elect, v.t.]
Elixir, e-liks′ėr, n. more fully, Elixir vitæ, or Elixir of life, a liquor once supposed to have the power of indefinitely prolonging life or of transmuting metals: the quintessence of anything: a substance which invigorates: (med.) a compound tincture. [Low L.,—Ar. al-iksīr, the philosopher's stone, from al-, the, iksīr, prob. from Late Gr. xērion, a desiccative powder for wounds—Gr. xēros, dry.]
Elizabethan, e-liz-a-beth′an, adj. pertaining to Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) or her time—of dress, manners, literature, &c.—n. a poet or dramatist of that age.—Elizabethan architecture, a name applied to the mixed style which sprang up on the decline of Gothic, marked by Tudor bow-windows and turrets decorated with classic cornices and pilasters, long galleries, enormous square windows, large apartments, plaster ceilings wrought into compartments, &c.
Elk, elk, n. the largest species of deer, found in the north of Europe and in North America.—Irish elk, a giant deer now extinct, known from the remains found in the Pleistocene diluvium, esp. of Ireland. [Perh. from the Scand., Ice. elgr, Sw. elg.]
Ell, el, n. a measure of length originally taken from the arm: a cloth measure equal to 1¼ yd.—n. Ell′wand, a measuring rod.—Give him an inch and he'll take an ell, a proverb, signifying that to yield one point entails the yielding of all. [A.S. eln; Dut. el, Ger. elle, L. ulna, Gr. ōlenē.]
Ellagic, e-laj′ik, adj. pertaining to gall-nuts.
Elleborin, el′ē-bō-rin, n. a very acrid resin found in winter hellebore.
Ellipse, el-lips′, n. an oval: (geom.) a figure produced by the section of a cone by a plane passing obliquely through the opposite sides.—ns. Ellip′sis (gram.), a figure of syntax by which a word or words are left out and implied:—pl. Ellip′sēs; Ellip′sograph, an instrument for describing ellipses; Ellip′soid (math.), a surface every plane section of which is an ellipse.—adjs. Ellipsoi′dal; Ellip′tic, -al, pertaining to an ellipse: oval: pertaining to ellipsis: having a part understood.—adv. Ellip′tically.—n. Elliptic′ity, deviation from the form of a circle or sphere: of the earth, the difference between the equatorial and polar diameters. [L.,—Gr. elleipsis—elleipein, to fall short—en, in, leipein, to leave.]
Ellops, el′ops, n. a kind of serpent or fish. [Gr.]
Elm, elm, n. a genus of trees of the natural order Ulmaceæ, with serrated leaves unequal at the base, and small flowers growing in clusters appearing before the leaves.—adjs. Elm′en, made of elm; Elm′y, abounding with elms. [A.S. elm; Ger. ulme, L. ulmus.]