ellen
/ˈɛl.ən/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.05 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A river in Cumberland district, Cumbria, England, that flows into the Solway Firth at Maryport.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "And how doth my cousin, your bedfellow? and your fairest daughter and mine, my god-daughter Ellen?"
- ""Is her name Ellen or Helen, Miss Viner? I thought - " Miss Viner closed her eyes. "I can sound my h's, dear, as well as anyone, but Helen is not a suitable name for a servant. I don't know what the mothers in the lower classes are coming to nowadays.""
- "Ellen Page gives a star-making performance as a 16-year-old live wire who decides to go through with her pregnancy and seeks acceptably well-adjusted, wealthy, punk-rock loving parents for the unborn baby."
Etymology
From Middle English elne, ellen, from Old English ellen (“zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage, fortitude, strife, contention”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljan, from Proto-Germanic *aljaną (“zeal, power, courage”). Cognate with Middle High German ellen (“strength, manhood”), Middle Low German ellen (“strength, power, courage, vigor, bravery”), Icelandic elja (“endurance, energy”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
elne (alternative)
Ellens (plural)