élan

noun

ā-ˈlän  ā-ˈläⁿ 

: vigorous spirit or enthusiasm

Did you know?

Once upon a time, English speakers did not have élan (the word, that is; we have always had the potential for vigorous spirit). We had, however, the verb elance, meaning "to throw," that was used for the launching of darts, javelins, and similar weaponry. Elance is derived from the Middle French (s')eslancer, meaning "to rush or dash" (that is, "to hurl oneself forth"). Elance enjoyed only a short flight in English, largely falling into disuse by the mid-1800s, around which time English speakers picked up élan, another French word that traces back, via the Middle French noun eslan ("dash, rush"), to (s')eslancer. We copied élan in form from the French, but we dispensed with the French sense of a literal "rush" or "dash," retaining the sense of enthusiastic animation that we sometimes characterize as dash.

Examples of élan in a Sentence

The dancer performed with great élan.

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French eslan rush, from (s')eslancer to rush, from ex- + lancer to hurl — more at lance

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing élan

• élan vital

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