/ ɪˈlæps; NAmE / verb
[ v ] (not usually used in the progressive tenses) ( formal ) if a period of time elapses , it passes
SYN go by :
Many years elapsed before they met again.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (in the sense slip away ): from Latin elaps- slipped away, from the verb elabi , from e- (variant of ex- ) out, away + labi to glide, slip.