Standard Lemma guide

else

adj · adv · conj · name · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation, US: /ɛls/
  • colloquial: /ɛlts/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛls
  • CMU ARPABET: EH1 L S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, postpositional

Examples

  • The instructor is busy. Can anyone else help me?
  • Whatever else she may be, she is not a surgeon.
  • When all else fails, read the instructions.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Otherwise, if not.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Qualifier: usually follows interrogative adverbs

Examples

  • How else (= in what other way) can it be done?
  • I'm busy Friday; when else (= what other time) works for you?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

conj

Meaning 3

For otherwise; or else.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Then the Wronskian of f and g must be nonzero, else they could not be linearly independent.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

name

Meaning 4

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English ells, elles, from Old English elles (“other, otherwise, different”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljas, from Proto-Germanic *aljas (“of another, of something else”), genitive of *aljaz (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h2élyos, from *h2el- (“other”). Cognate with Old Frisian elles (“other”), Old High German elles, ellies (“other”), Danish eller (“or”), Danish ellers (“otherwise”), Swedish eljes, eljest (“or else, otherwise”), Norwegian elles (“else, otherwise”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos), Arcadocypriot αἶλος (aîlos), modern Greek αλλιώς (alliós, “otherwise, else”), Proto-Slavic *olni.

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Ell. * As a north German surname, of Low German origin, from Proto-West Germanic *aliʀu (“alder”), comparable to Dutch els.

Across languages

Translations

73 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: غَيْر (ḡayr) — other
  • Arabic: آخَر (ʔāḵar) — other
  • Catalan: més — other
  • Catalan: altre — other
  • Czech: jiný — other
  • Czech: ostatní — other
  • Finnish: muu — other
  • French: d'autre — other
  • German: anders — other
  • German: sonst — other
  • German: anderer — other
  • Hungarian: más — other
  • Khmer: ទៀត (tiet) — other
  • Latin: alius — other
  • Old English: elles — other
  • Polish: inny — other
  • Portuguese: mais — other
  • Romanian: altceva — other
  • Romanian: altcineva — other
  • Russian: ещё (ješčó) — other
  • Slovak: iný — other
  • Slovene: drug — other
  • Spanish: más — other
  • Swedish: annat — other
  • Bulgarian: иначе (inače) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Bulgarian: освен това (osven tova) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Danish: ellers — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Dutch: zoniet — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Dutch: anders — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Dutch: in het andere geval — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Esperanto: alie — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • French: sinon — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • French: autrement — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Georgian: სხვანაირად (sxvanairad) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Georgian: სხვაგვარად (sxvagvarad) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • German: sonst — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • German: anders — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • German: andernfalls — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • German: ansonsten — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Greek: αλλιώς (alliós) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Hungarian: máshogy — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Hungarian: máshogyan — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Hungarian: másként — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Hungarian: másképp — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Hungarian: máskor — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Italian: altro — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Japanese: 然も無くば (samonakuba) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Latin: alioqui — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Lithuanian: o dar — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Polish: inaczej — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Portuguese: senão — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Portuguese: em vez de — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Portuguese: além disso — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Russian: ина́че (ináče) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Slovak: inak — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Spanish: más — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Spanish: sino — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Swedish: annars — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Tamil: வேறு (vēṟu) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Yiddish: אַנישט (anisht) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Yiddish: אַניט (anit) — word that implies any result with the exception of the one being referred to
  • Arabic: وَإِلَا (wa-ʔilā) — for otherwise — see also or else
  • French: autrement — for otherwise — see also or else
  • French: sinon — for otherwise — see also or else
  • German: andernfalls — for otherwise — see also or else
  • German: ansonsten — for otherwise — see also or else
  • German: sonst — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Low German: süs — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Portuguese: senão — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Slovene: sicer — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Spanish: sino — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Swedish: annars — for otherwise — see also or else
  • Tamil: இல்லையெனில் (illaiyeṉil) — for otherwise — see also or else