Etymograph

English

elning

Elning comes from Old English elnung ‘encouragement, comfort, consolation,…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *aljaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljaną1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alljan1‘zeal’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellen2‘zeal, strength, power, strife’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150elnung3‘encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elning3
  6. Englishtodayelning3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English ellen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English elnung
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English elning

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljanąWiktionary, Old English ellenreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alljanWiktionary, Old English ellen‘zeal’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ellenWiktionary, Old English elnung‘zeal, strength, power, strife’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150elnungWiktionary, English elning‘encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elningWiktionary, English elning
  6. EnglishtodayelningWiktionary, English elning

Formed from elne + -ing

Proto-Germanic *aljaną

Proto-West Germanic *alljan ‘zeal’

Old English ellen ‘zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage,…’

Middle English elne ‘power, strength, might’

English elne

Linked words

through Old English ellen ‘zeal, strength, power, strife’

ellen, 3 more

Today it means

noun Comfort; grace.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “elning”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English ellen, Old English elnung. 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-Germanic *aljaną / elning

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