Etymograph

English

elt

Elt comes from Middle English elten ‘to mold, knead, work’, from Proto-Germanic *alatjaną ‘to drive, force, move’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁elh₂-1‘to drive, move, go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alatjaną1‘to drive, force, move’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350elta1‘to chase, hunt, knead’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elten1‘to mold, knead, work’
  5. Englishtodayelt1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English elt

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁elh₂-Wiktionary, English elt‘to drive, move, go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alatjanąWiktionary, English elt‘to drive, force, move’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350eltaWiktionary, English elt‘to chase, hunt, knead’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eltenWiktionary, English elt‘to mold, knead, work’
  5. EnglishtodayeltWiktionary, English elt

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- ‘to drive, move, go’

elastic, 3 more

Today it means

verb To injure (anything) by rough handling; handle roughly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “elt”. 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 *h₁elh₂- / elt

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