Etymograph

English

ell

Ell comes from Old English eln ‘the length of the forearm from the elbow to…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-1‘elbow, forearm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-én-eh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alinō1‘elbow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alinu1‘forearm, ell’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150eln1‘the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elle1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1791ell1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ell
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation: “At certain times in the ice-mountains of Switzerland there…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-Wiktionary, English ell‘elbow, forearm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-én-eh₂Wiktionary, English ellreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alinōWiktionary, English ell‘elbow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alinuWiktionary, English ell‘forearm, ell’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150elnWiktionary, English ell‘the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elleWiktionary, English ell
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1791ellWiktionary, English ell. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation: “At certain times in the ice-mountains of Switzerland there…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘elbow, forearm’

limit, sublime, limes, subliminal, ulna, 9 more

Today it means

noun A measure of length. An English ell was 1¼ yards (45 inches or 114 cm), a Scottish ell was about 37 inches (94 cm), a Flemish ell was ¾ yard (27 inches or 69 cm), while certain European ells were less than 50 cm.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ell”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- / ell

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