elsen

E1L1S1E1N1

noun

An awl, a pointed tool.

“piercing with an elsen”

OriginMiddle English elsen ← Middle Dutch elsene ← Old Dutch *elisna →
UncommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

elsen1

nounelsen (plural elsens)

plural elsens · alternative elsin

  1. UKdialectalAn awl, a pointed tool.

    piercing with an elsen

Elsen2

proper nounElsen (plural Elsens)

plural Elsens

  1. A surname.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*alasnō
  2. Proto-West Germanic*alisnu
  3. Old Dutch*elisna
  4. Middle Dutchelsene
  5. Middle Englishelsen
  6. Englishelsen

From Middle English elsen, elsyn, alsene (“an awl or some other pointed instrument or tool”), either from Middle Dutch elsene, alsene, from Old Dutch *elisna, *alasna, from Proto-West Germanic *alisnu, *alasnu, from Proto-Germanic *alasnō, or from an unrecorded Old English form.

More words from Middle English, Middle Dutch, Old Dutch

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Nelse
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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