Ely

E1L1Y4
UK/iːli/

proper noun

A cathedral city and civil parish (served by City of Ely Council) in East Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England.

OriginMiddle English Ely ← Old English Ēlīġ →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A cathedral city and civil parish (served by City of Ely Council) in East Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England.
  2. A suburb and community in Cardiff, Wales (OS grid ref ST1376).
  3. A river in Rhondda Cynon Taf borough, Vale of Glamorgan borough and Cardiff, Wales, which flows into the Severn Estuary.
  4. A place in the United States:
    1. A city in Linn County, Iowa.
    2. A township in Marquette County, Michigan.
    3. A city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota.
    4. A city, the county seat of White Pine County, Nevada.
    5. An unincorporated community in Millstone Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
    6. A village in the town of Fairlee, Orange County, Vermont.
    7. An unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia.
  5. A male given name.
  6. A surname.

Origin

  1. Old EnglishĒlīġ
  2. Middle EnglishEly
  3. EnglishEly

Inherited from Middle English Ely, from Old English Ēlīġ, of uncertain origin.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

leylyeyel
Cite this entry
APA

Ely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ely

MLA

“Ely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ely. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ely,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ely.

Source: Ely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.