Where does “el-” come from?
el- (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic alljas, from Proto-Germanic aljas, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élyos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂él-.
el- (Old English): strange, other, else
Ancestry of “el-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | alljas | else, otherwise, besides |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | aljas | of another, of something else |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élyos | other, another |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | — |