ELITE


Meaning of ELITE in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ā-ˈlēt, i-, ē- ]

noun

Etymology: French élite, from Old French eslite, from feminine of eslit, past participle of eslire to choose, from Latin eligere

Date: 1823

1.

a. singular or plural in construction : the choice part : cream

the elite of the entertainment world

b. singular or plural in construction : the best of a class

superachievers who dominate the computer elite — Marilyn Chase

c. singular or plural in construction : the socially superior part of society

how the elite live — A P World

how the French-speaking elite …was changing — Economist

d. : a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence

members of the ruling elite

the intellectual elite s of the country

e. : a member of such an elite — usually used in plural

the elite s …, pursuing their studies in Europe — Robert Wernick

2. : a typewriter type providing 12 characters to the linear inch

• elite adjective

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.