e·lite
Audio Help [i-leet, ey-leet] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [i-leet, ey-leet] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 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 pica1. |
| 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
]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
elite
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| e·lite or é·lite
Audio Help (ĭ-lēt', ā-lēt') Pronunciation Key
n. pl. elite or e·lites
[French élite, from Old French eslite, from feminine past participle of eslire, to choose, from Latin ēligere; see elect.] e·lite' adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
| elite | |
adjective | |
| 1. | selected as the best; "an elect circle of artists"; "elite colleges" [syn: elect] |
noun | |
| 1. | a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
élite [eiˈliːt, (American) i-] noun
(with the) the best or most important people especially within society
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
elite
1.
The term is also used to describe exclusive forums (ftp sites, BBSs) used for trading pirated software, cracking tools, or phreaking codes.
(1997-01-31)
| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
ELITE
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