The story
- Old English · inherited fromellnung
- Middle English · inherited fromelning
- English todayeldning
From Middle English elning, elnung, from Old English ellnung, elnung (“encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy”), from elnian (“to emulate, endeavor to be equal, be zealous, strive with zeal after another, make strong, strengthen, comfort oneself, gain strength”) (compare Old English ellen (“zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage, fortitude, strife, contention”)), equivalent to elne + -ing. Cognate with Scots eldning (“jealousy”).
Words from the same roots
Middle Englishelning all →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.