/e.lɑ̃/
spirit, verve; fervor, passion; momentum; run up; uncertain period of time, a while, a spell
“Il y a bien des élans avec elle, au café, dehors, quand rien ne peut arriver.”
Deverbal from élancer (“to throw oneself at”).
moose, elk
Related: chien d’élan gris, chien d’élan noir, chien d’élan norvégien gris, chien d’élan norvégien noir, chien d’élan suédois, corail corne d’élan
Borrowed from German Elen, Elend, from Middle High German eln, elent, of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Baltic language (compare Lithuanian élnias and Latvian alnis), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *elenias, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el-h₁en (“red deer, elk”). Compare also Armenian եղնիկ (eġnik) and Proto-Slavic *elỳ (“deer”) whence also Bulgarian еле́н (elén), Polish jeleń and Ukrainian о́лень (ólenʹ). Alternatively, Middle High German eln, elent, may derive from Old High German elho,