Etymology of the English word elegant
the English word
elegantderived from the Old French word
elegantderived from the Latin word
elegans (elegant, fine, handsome)
derived from the Latin root
*elegarederived from the Late Latin word
eligere (pick out, choose)
using the Late Latin prefix
e-derived from the Latin word
legere (read; gather, collect)
derived from the Greek word
legein, λέγω (to speak)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*leg- (to collect, to speak)
Date
The earliest known usage of elegant in English dates from the 16th century.
Cognates
Dutch
elegant, French
élegant, German
elegant, Italian
elegante, Latin
elegantes, Lithuanian
elegantiškas, Norwegian
elegant, Polish
elegancki, Russian
элeгантный, Swedish
elegantUsage
Word found in Modern English
