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elitism
part of something, especially of education or an area of
study: some elementary English exercises for the learner 3
PRIMARY
,elementary 'particle n tech any of the 20 or more types of
small pieces of matter (including ELECTRONS, PROTONS, and
NEUTRONS) which make up atoms
ele'mentary ,school also grade school, grammar
school n AmE a school at which elementary subjects are
taught for the first six years of a child's education → see
Feature on page A12
el-e-ments /'elɪmənts/ n [the P] 1 the weather, especially
bad weather: Shall we brave the elements and go for a walk?
(=in spite of the bad weather) → see also ELEMENTAL 2 [of]
the first or most simple things one has to learn about a
subject: the elements of calculus
el-e-phant /'elɪfənt/ n a very large animal with two TUSKS
(long curved teeth) and a TRUNK (long nose) with which it
can pick things up → see also PINK ELEPHANT, WHITE
ELEPHANT
CULTURAL NOTE People sometimes say, 'Elephants never
forget', because they are believed to have very good
memories: He's got the memory of/a memory like an
elephant.
el-e-phan-tine /ˌelɪ'fæntaɪn || -ti:n/ adj often humor heavy
and awkward like an elephant: The big fat man walked with
slow elephantine steps.
'Elephant ,Man, the (1862–90), a name given to an English-
man called Joseph Merrick because he was seriously
DEFORMED by illness. Merrick appeared in FREAK shows,
where he was found by a doctor Sir Frederick Treves, in
1886. The British actor John Hurt played the part of Merrick
in a film about him in 1980.
el-e-vate /'elɪveɪt/ v [T] fml 1 to make finer, higher, or more
educated: His elevated sentiments (=fine and noble words)
were much admired by the audience. 2 to raise to a higher
rank or position: He was elevated to the rank of captain.
,elevated 'railway n a railway which runs on a kind of
continuous bridge above the streets in a town. The elevated
railway in Chicago is often called the el or L.
el-e-va-tion /ˌelɪ'veɪʃn/ n 1 [U] fml the act of elevating or
the state or quality of being elevated: His elevation to the
position of First Secretary was announced yesterday. | The
elevation (=fine and noble quality) of her style is much
admired. 2 [S] height above sea-level: Their house is at an
elevation of 2000 metres. → compare ALTITUDE 3 [C] (a
drawing, especially done by an ARCHITECT of) a flat upright
side of a building: This drawing shows the front elevation of
the house. → compare FACADE, PLAN¹, SECTION¹ 4 [S] the
angle made with the horizon by pointing a gun etc: The
cannon was fired at an elevation of 60 degrees. → compare
TRAJECTORY 5 [C] fml a hill; a high place
el-e-va-tor /'elɪveɪtər/ n 1 AmE lift BrE — an apparatus in a
building for taking people and goods from one level to
another. It is like a very small room, and moves up and down
to each floor: I took the elevator to the 14th floor. 2 a machine
consisting of a moving belt with buckets, used for raising
grain and liquids, unloading ships etc 3 a storehouse for
grain 4 a movable part in the tail of an aircraft which makes
it able to climb and descend → compare AILERON 5 sb's
elevator doesn't go all the way to the top (floor) AmE spoken
a humorous expression used in order to say that someone is
very stupid or slightly crazy: You know how Lisa is. The
elevator doesn't go all the way to the top sometimes.
'elevator ,music also Muzak trademark — n [U] AmE infml derog
a type of music played in SUPERMARKETS etc which is
supposed to be relaxing and stop you thinking about other
things
CULTURAL NOTE People sometimes refer to any type of
boring music as elevator music.
e-lev-en /ɪ'levn/ determiner, n, pron 1 (the number) 11 → see
TABLE 1 2 [+sing./pl. v] BrE a team of eleven players in
football, cricket etc: The school football eleven is/are playing
tomorrow. — -th determiner, n, pron, adv
e,leven-'plus n [the S] an examination for 11-year-old chil-
dren used in Britain especially before the introduction of
COMPREHENSIVE education. The result of the examination
decided whether a child went to a GRAMMAR SCHOOL or a
SECONDARY MODERN school.
e-lev-en-ses /ɪ'levənɪz/ n [U] BrE infml coffee, tea, or a light
meal, which is taken at about 11 o'clock in the morning
e,leventh 'hour n [the] the very last moment: War, which
had seemed almost certain, was averted at the eleventh hour.
elf /elf/ n pl. elves /elvz/ a small fairy with pointed ears which
is said to play tricks on people
el-fin /'elfɪn/ adj of or like an elf: her delicate elfin features
El-gar, Sir Edward /'elgɑ:r/ (1857–1934) a British COMPOSER
of CLASSICAL music, known for his Enigma Variations and
Cello Concerto. He also wrote the music for the PATRIOTIC song
LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY.
El-gin Mar-bles, the /ˌelgɪn 'mɑ:bəlz || -'mɑ:r-/ a set of
ancient Greek SCULPTURES from the PARTHENON in Athens,
which were brought to Britain by the Earl of Elgin in 1803,
and are kept in the BRITISH MUSEUM in London
CULTURAL NOTE The Greek government has asked Britain
to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Some British
people now think that Elgin had no right to bring the
sculptures to Britain, and that they should be given back.
El Gre-co /ˌel 'grekəʊ/ (1541–1614) a Spanish artist known for
his religious paintings. He was called El Greco, which means
'the Greek', because he was born in Crete.
e-li-cit /ɪ'lɪsɪt/ v [T(from)] fml to succeed in drawing out (facts,
information etc) from someone, especially after much effort:
After much questioning, he elicited the truth (from the boy). |
Their appeal for funds didn't elicit much of a response.
— -ation /ˌɪlɪsɪ'teʃn/ n [U]
e-lide /ɪ'laɪd/ v [T] to leave out the sound of (a letter or part
of a word) in pronunciation: We usually elide the 'd' in
'Wednesday'. — -elision /ɪ'lɪʒn/ n [C;U]
el-i-gi-ble /'elɪdʒɪbəl/ adj 1 [F(for)] fulfilling the necessary
conditions: Is she eligible for maternity leave? | [+to-v] Anyone
over the age of 18 is eligible to vote. 2 suitable to be chosen,
especially for marriage (especially of a man): an eligible
bachelor → compare MARRIAGEABLE — -bility /ˌelɪdʒ'bɪlɪti/
n [U]
e-lim-i-nate /ɪ'lɪmɪneɪt/ v [T] 1 [(from)] to remove or get rid
of completely: Can we ever eliminate hunger from the world? |
Our team was eliminated (from the competition) in the first
round. | The police have eliminated all the other suspects
(=shown that they are not guilty) so only one now remains. |
This new process has eliminated the need for checking the
products by hand. 2 infml to murder — -nation
/ɪˌlɪmɪ'neɪʃn/ n [U(from)]: Their elimination from the compe-
tition in the first round was a great surprise. | The police
realized, by a process of elimination (=by eliminating each
possibility in turn until only one was left), that the husband
must have been the murderer.
El-i-ot, George /'eliət/ (1819–80) an British woman writer,
whose real name was Mary Ann or Marian Evans. She is
generally considered to have written some of the greatest
English novels, including MIDDLEMARCH, The Mill on the
Floss, and Silas Marner. Her novels give a detailed picture of
many different characters at all levels of English society.
Eliot, T.S. (1888–1965) a US poet and writer of plays, who
lived in England for most of his life. He is regarded as one of
the most important writers of the 20th century, and he won
the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. His works include The
Cocktail Party, The Waste Land, and The Lovesong of J. Alfred
Prufrock. The musical show CATS is based on his poems called
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
e-lite /eɪ'li:t, ɪ-/ n [C+sing./pl. v] often derog a group that is of
higher level or rank, e.g. professionally, socially, or in ability,
or that has a great deal of power or influence in relation to
its size: The army was controlled by a small elite of officers. |
She was chosen as one of the elite squad for the Olympic
Games. | Only the educational elite go/goes to Oxford or
Cambridge.
e-lit-ism /eɪ'li:tɪzəm, ɪ-/ n [U] derog (behaviour based on)
the belief that there should be elites and that they deserve
power, influence, special treatment etc: It's sheer elitism to
restrict these privileges to the management staff. — -ist adj, n