Other forms: elites
The elite is the small group at the top of a society or field. The political elite, an elite unit, elite athletes.
In sport it is a neutral description of standard and in politics it is an accusation, and the same word does both jobs without changing shape. The Latin behind it means chosen — an elite is those picked out.
1nouneliteThe small group at the top of a society or field.
“Only the elite could afford to send their children to that private school.”
elite is a group.
The French word means the chosen ones. The elite are simply the people somebody chose to stand at the top; nobody else got to choose.
hooks ontochoose
Old French eslit means chosen, from Latin eligere, to pick out. Elect and eligible are relatives.
Proto-Indo-European
*leǵ-
Old French
eslit
Middle English
elit
English, today
elite
Built from
From Middle English elit, from Old French eslit. From Middle English elit, from Old French elit, eslit (“chosen, elected”) past participle of elire, eslire (“to choose, elect”), from Latin eligere (“to choose, elect”), with past participle electus; see elect.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA