élan

See also: ELAN, Elan, elan, elán, and elän

English

Alternative forms

• elan

Etymology

Borrowed from French élan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪˈlɑːn/, /eɪˈlæn/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːn, -æn

Noun

élan (countable and uncountable, plural élans)

1. Spirit; zeal; ardor.
   • 1916, Booth Tarkington, Penrod and Sam, page 197:

     Sam, carried away by the élan of the performance, was unable to resist joining them.

   • 1971, Deborah S. Davis, “The Cultural Revolution in Wuhan”, in The Cultural Revolution in the Provinces‎^[1], Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 159:

     The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to radicalize the whole society, to create mass participation at all levels of decision-making, and to restore the revolutionary élan of the 1940s.

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with eland, the name of two African antelopes.

Related terms

• élan vital
• lance, lancet

Translations

spirit, zeal

• Finnish: into (fi), säpinä, kiihko (fi), palo (fi)
• French: élan (fr) m
• German: Elan (de) m
• Maori: matangareka, wana, rika, whitawhita
• Portuguese: elã (pt) m, élan (pt) m
• Romanian: elan (ro) n
• Swedish: stil och fart, schvung (sv), geist (sv)

Anagrams

• Alne, Lane, Lean, Lena, Nale, Neal, enal, lane, lean, nale, neal

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.lɑ̃/

• (file)

• Homophone: élans

Etymology 1

Deverbal from élancer.

Noun

élan m (plural élans)

1. spirit
2. momentum

   Il prend son élan. ― He is gaining momentum.

3. (sports) run up

Derived terms

• prendre son élan

 

Descendants

• → English: élan
• → German: Elan
• → Portuguese: elã, élan
• → Romanian: elan

Etymology 2

From a Baltic language.

Noun

élan m (plural élans)

1. moose, elk

Further reading

• “élan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French élan.

Noun

élan m (plural élans)

1. Alternative form of elã