Lexicon: elect – elemental

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elect, adj. [L. < ēligēre, to pick out, choose.]

Special; blessed; revered; [attributed to God as an object] divine, holy, godly, sacred, sublime; [active attribution from God to a subject] selective, discerning, preferential, elite, exclusive, saving by grace, favoring a mortal being; [reciprocal attribution to God and a mortal subject] preferred, favored, foreordained, appointed, chosen, sanctified, cloistered, unapproachable, set apart.

elect (-ed), v. [see elect, adj.]

Choose; prefer; nominate; pick out by name; select from two or more.

election, n. [OFr < L. see elect.]

Choice; exercise of agency; deliberate choosing between options; [metaphor] vote; process of selecting a candidate; [fig.] appointment; acceptance; spiritual initiation; [Calvinist] assurance of salvation; state of being predestined as one of God's chosen people; [Congregational] induction into a religious congregation by vote of the members.

electric, adj. [L. < Gk 'amber'.]

Containing electricity; communicating shock; [fig.] powerful; bright.

electrical, adj. [see electric, adj.]

Charged; containing electricity; [fig.] spark of life.

electricity, n. [see electric, adj.]

Energy; electrical power; lighting; [Webster 1844] “The operations of a very subtil fluid which appears to be diffused through most bodies … It is doubted by modern philosophers whether electricity is a fluid or material substance.”

elegant, adj. [Fr. 'choosing carefully'.] (webplay: flower).

Beautiful; aesthetically pleasing; polished; ornamental.

elegy, n. [Fr. < L. < Gk 'a mournful poem'.]

  1. Lamentation; sorrowful song; [fig.] sorrow.
  2. Funeral song; lament for the dead.
  3. Lyric poem; ancient poetic form; [fig.] bird song.
  4. Music; [fig.] insect drone.

element (-s), n. [OFr < L.]

  1. Ingredient; component; degree; characteristic substance; constituent part; [fig.] influence; spirit; spiritual dimension; first principle.
  2. Atom; matter; simple substance; basic composition.

elemental, adj. [see element, n.]

  1. Fundamental; at the core; located in the integral parts.
  2. Inherent; intrinsic; potential; true; actual.
  3. Basic; organic; earthy; of the soil.