different between else vs elfe

English

Etymology

From Middle English ells, elles, from Old English elles (“other, otherwise, different”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljas, from Proto-Germanic *aljas (“of another, of something else”), genitive of *aljaz (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?élyos, from *h?el- (“other”).

Cognate with Old Frisian elles (“other”), Old High German elles, ellies (“other”), Danish eller (“or”), Danish ellers (“otherwise”), Swedish eljes, eljest (“or else, otherwise”), Norwegian elles (“else, otherwise”), Gothic ???????????????????? (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ????? (állos), Arcadocypriot ????? (aîlos), modern Greek ?????? (alliós, “otherwise, else”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /?ls/
• (colloquial) IPA^(key): /?lts/
• Rhymes: -?ls

Adjective

else (not comparable)

1. (postpositive, used only with indefinite or interrogative pronouns) Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.

   The instructor is busy. Can anyone else help me?

   • c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I scene ii^[1]:

     Prospero:

     Thou hast done well, fine Ariel. Follow me;

     Hark what thou else shalt do me.

Usage notes

• This adjective usually follows an indefinite or interrogative pronoun, as in the examples above. In other cases, the adjective other is typically used.

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

else (not comparable)

1. (follows interrogative adverbs) Otherwise, if not.

   How else (=in what other way) can it be done?

   I'm busy Friday; when else (=what other time) works for you?

Usage notes

• (otherwise): This word frequently follows interrogative adverbs, such as how, why, and when, as well as the derived however, whyever, and whenever.

Synonyms

• otherwise

Derived terms

• or else

Translations

Conjunction

else

1. For otherwise; or else.

   Then the Wronskian of f and g must be nonzero, else they could not be linearly independent.

   • 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild, Grosset & Dunlap, page 44:

     […] and his first experience taught him an unforgetable lesson. It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it.

Translations

See also

• and
• if
• not
• or
• then

Anagrams

• EELS, ELEs, Lees, Slee, eels, l'ees, lees, lese, seel, sele

Italian

Noun

else f

1. plural of elsa

Anagrams

• lese

English

Etymology

From Middle English elfe, from Old English ielfen, feminine of ielf (“elf”).

Noun

elfe (plural elfen or elfene)

1. (obsolete) A female elf, a fairy, nymph

   • Scho was so faire & so fresche, as faucon hire semed, An elfe out of an-othire erde, or ellis an Aungell. — The Wars of Alexander, 1450

   (She was so fair and happy and seemed elegant, an elfe from another world or else an angel.)

   • He was takyn with an elfe ... When the clok stroke twelf was he forshapyn. — The Towneley Plays, 1500

References

1. MED, elf, elve(n)

Anagrams

• feel, fele, flee, leef

Esperanto

Etymology

elfo (“elf”) +? -e (“adverb”)

Adverb

elfe

1. in an elfin manner, elvishly
2. in Elvish (language)

Related terms

• elfa (“elfen”)
• elfo (“elf”)

French

Etymology

Swedish älf, from Old Norse alfr, compare Old English ælf. Originated from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *h?elb?ós (“brilliant, shining white”) via Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/
• Homophone: elfes

Noun

elfe m (plural elfes)

1. elf

Derived terms

• elfique

Further reading

• “elfe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• fêle, fêlé

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ælf.

Noun

elfe

1. Alternative form of elf

Etymology 2

From Old English ælfen.

Noun

elfe

1. Alternative form of elven