English

else

/ɛls/
Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    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 *h₂élyos, from *h₂el- (“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 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos), Arcadocypriot αἶλος (aîlos), modern Greek αλλιώς (alliós, “otherwise, else”), Proto-Slavic *olni.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*h₂el- (other)
    • inheritedMiddle Englishells
      • inheritedOld Englishelles “other, otherwise, different”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*alljas “other”
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*aljas “of another, of something else”
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₂élyos
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*h₂el- “grown, tall, big”

    Related: Old Frisian elles, Old High German elles, Danish eller, Danish ellers, Swedish eljes, Norwegian elles, Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃, Latin alius, Ancient Greek ἄλλος, Greek αλλιώς, Proto-Slavic *olni

    Sources