elseelse

Else comes from Old English elles ‘other, otherwise, different’, from Proto-Germanic *aljas ‘of another, of something else’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘other’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-¹‘other’reconstructed
2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂élyos¹‘other’reconstructed
3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljaz¹‘other’reconstructed
4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*aljas¹‘of another’reconstructedgenitive of *aljaz
5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*alljas¹‘else’reconstructed
6. Old Englishc. 450–1150elles¹‘other’
7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ells¹
8. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611else¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English else
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “Prospero: Thou hast done well, fine Ariel. Follow me;…”.