él

From Latin ille (“that one”). Akin to Spanish él and Portuguese ele.

él

1. he (third-person singular masculine pronoun)

From Latin ille (“that one”).

él

1. he, it (third-person singular masculine pronoun)

• IPA^(key): [ˈeːl]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːl

From Proto-Uralic *elä-. Cognates include Finnish elää (“to live”).

él

1. (intransitive) to live (to remain alive, be alive, reside at)
2. (transitive) to live

   Veszélyes időket éltek. ― They lived in a dangerous time.

3. (intransitive) to live in a particular state

   Mindannyian hazugságban élünk. ― We are all living a lie.

4. (intransitive) to use something habitually or regularly (+ -val/-vel), especially when that something is considered unethical or immoral

   Én nem élek drogokkal. ― I don't use drugs.

   Ki karddal él, kard által vész el, tartja a mondás. ― He who lives by the sword dies by the sword, as the saying goes.

5. (intransitive) to consume something (+ -n/-on/-en/-ön) as a main part of one's diet

   Sok egyetemista egészségtelen ételeken él. ― A lot of university students live off unhealthy food.

6. (intransitive) to use something (+ -val/-vel) to one's advantage, to make proper use of

   Szeretnék élni alkotmányos jogaimmal. ― I would like to exercise my constitutional rights.

   A barátom élt a felesége tanácsával. ― My friend took his wife's advice.

7. (intransitive) to spend most of one's time benefiting something or someone (usually + -nak/-nek)

   Egy katona egyedül a hazájának él. ― A soldier lives for his country alone.

8. (intransitive) to make a living, to depend on something (+ -ból/-ből) as a source of income

   A legtöbb dolgozó a munkájából él. ― Most workers live from their work.

   Meg kellett tanulniuk a földből élni. ― They had to learn to live off the land.

9. (intransitive) to continue to be remembered, to live with someone (+ -ban/-ben)

   A szavai azóta is bennem élnek. ― His words have lived with me ever since.

(With verbal prefixes):

Probably from Proto-Ugric *elɜ (“edge”). Compare with Northern Mansi э̄лми (è̄lmi, “edge”).

él (plural élek)

1. edge

   Synonyms: szél, perem, szegély

   a kés éle ― the edge of the knife

2. crease (of pants/trousers)
3. fore, front, forefront, head (see élen, élén)

   Synonyms: vezető, eleje

4. (geometry) side (a bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape)

   Synonym: (a less technical term in this sense) oldal

• (to live): él in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• (edge): él in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• él in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)

• lé

From Old Norse él.

• IPA^(key): /jɛl/, [jɛːl]

él n (genitive singular éls, nominative plural él)

1. hailstorm, hail shower

• haglél
• naddél

• hagl

Inherited from Latin ille (“that one”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈel/ [ˈel]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: él

él (masculine third-person singular pronoun, feminine ella, neuter ello, masculine plural ellos, feminine plural ellas)

1. he, him, masculine personal third person subject and disjunctive pronoun (used as a subject and after prepositions)

   Él es mi hermano.

   He is my brother.

   Lo hice para él.

   I did it for him.

2. it, masculine non-personal third-person subject and disjunctive pronoun (used as a subject and after prepositions to refer to masculine nouns)

   ―¿Es esto un libro? ―Sí, él es.

   ―Is this a book? ―Yes, it is.

   ¡Mi coche! ¿Qué le pasó a él?

   My car! What happened to it?

• “él”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

• le