I. ə̇ˈlaps, ēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin elapsus, past participle of elabi to slip away, escape, from e- + labi to fall, slide — more at sleep
intransitive verb
: to slip by : glide away : pass — usually used of time
after 1330, a whole generation elapses before there is another recorded demand for annual parliaments — J.G.Edwards
transitive verb
obsolete : to permit (time) to pass : outlast , overstay
II. noun
( -s )
1. archaic : a flowing out : emanation
2. of time : passage , expiration
after the elapse of five years the screen is now permitted to dramatize the greatest news event of the modern age — Louise Mace