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elite - 5 dictionary results
e⋅lite
[i-leet, ey-leet]
–noun
| 1. | (often used with a plural verb ) the choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons. |
| 2. | (used with a plural verb ) persons of the highest class: Only the elite were there. |
| 3. | a group of persons exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group: the power elite of a major political party. |
| 4. | a type, approximately 10-point in printing-type size, widely used in typewriters and having 12 characters to the inch. Compare pica 1 . |
–adjective
| 5. | representing the most choice or select; best: an elite group of authors. |
Also, é⋅lite.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME elit a person elected to office < MF e(s)lit ptp. of e(s)lire to choose; see elect
1350–1400; ME elit a person elected to office < MF e(s)lit ptp. of e(s)lire to choose; see elect

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To elite
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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elite
adj. Clueful. Plugged-in. One of the cognoscenti. Also used as a general positive adjective. This term is not actually hacker slang in the strict sense; it is used primarily by crackers and warez d00dz, for which reason hackers use it only with heavy irony. The term used to refer to the folks allowed in to the "hidden" or "privileged" sections of BBSes in the early 1980s (which, typically, contained pirated software). Frequently, early boards would only let you post, or even see, a certain subset of the sections (or `boards') on a BBS. Those who got to the frequently legendary `triple super secret' boards were elite. Misspellings of this term in warez d00dz style abound; the forms `eleet', and `31337' (among others) have been sighted.A true hacker would be more likely to use `wizardly'. Oppose lamer.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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Language Translation for : elite
Spanish:
élite,
German:
die Elite,
Japanese:
エリート
elite
1823, from Fr. élite "selection, choice," from O.Fr. fem. pp. of elire, elisre "pick out, choose," from L. eligere "choose" (see election). Borrowed in M.E. as "chosen person," esp. a bishop-elect, died out c.1450, re-introduced by Byron's "Don Juan." As a typeface, first recorded 1920. Elitist, elitism are first attested 1950 (the original examples were Freud, Nietzsche, and Carlyle).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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