еле
/[ˈjelʲe]/
Russianadv
Definitions
- 1.hardly, scarcely, barely
- 2.slightly
- 3.with (great) difficulty
Synonyms & related words
Word family
- е́ле-е́ле
Synonyms
- с трудо́м
- наси́лу
- едва́
- чуть
Etymology
From Old East Slavic ѥлѣ (jelě), ѥль (jelĭ), from Proto-Slavic *le, *lě (see *ale). Cognate with Ukrainian єле (jele), dialectal ле (le), Old Church Slavonic ѥлѣ живъ (jelě živŭ) (translates Ancient Greek ἡμιθανής (hēmithanḗs)), Old Church Slavonic лѣ (lě), Serbo-Croatian ле, ље̏ (“negative intensifier”), Bulgarian еле (ele, “finally”), dated Slovene lė́ (“only, just”), Czech le (“and, but, however”), Old Polish le (“only”)
Forms
- е́леcanonical
- jéleromanization