eel

See also: Eel, e'el, eʼel, eel-, and -eel

English
an eel

Etymology

From Middle English el, from Old English ǣl (“eel”), from Proto-West Germanic *āl, from Proto-Germanic *ēlaz (“eel”), which is of unknown origin.

Cognates:

Cognate with West Frisian iel (“eel”), Dutch aal (“eel”), German Low German Aal, Ool (“eel”), German Aal (“eel”), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ål (“eel”).

Pronunciation
  • enPR: ēl, IPA(key): /iːl/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːl
  • Homophone: 'e'll

Noun

eel (plural eels)

  1. Any freshwater or marine fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
  2. A European eel (Anguilla anguilla).
  3. Someone or something that is sneaky and/or hard to catch.
    That Dennis is a right eel, he always seems to slip away from the scene at the right time.
    • 2003, Catherine Anderson, Only by Your Touch:
      His expression when incredulous. "Why would you think that?" He was a slippery little eel.
    • 2004, F. Scott Spencer, Dancing Girls, Loose Ladies, and Women of the Cloth, page 26:
      Philosophers and literary critics from ancient times, along with social scientists, physicians, theologians, and biblical scholars more recently, have tried to get a tentative handle, if not a firm grasp, on this "slippery eel" of humor and laughter.
    • 2016, Jody Hedlund, Newton and Polly: A Novel of Amazing Grace, page 131:
      John scowled after the dog. "Never fear, my lady. I shall get the sneaky, slippery eel yet."

Derived terms

Translations
Anguilla anguilla — see European eel

See also

Verb

eel (third-person singular simple present eels, present participle eeling, simple past and past participle eeled)

  1. To fish for eels.
  2. To move with a sinuous motion like that of an eel.

References

Anagrams

Estonian

Noun

eel

  1. adessive singular of esi

Ingrian
Spatial inflection of eel
↗︎○ allative eelle
○ adessive eel
○↘︎ ablative eelt

Pronunciation
  • (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈeːlːæ/, [ˈeːlʲː]
  • (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈeːl/, [ˈe̝ːl]
  • Rhymes: -eːlː, -eːl
  • Hyphenation: eel
  • Homophone: eelle

Postposition

eel (+ genitive)

  1. before, in front of (of location)

Noun

eel

  1. adessive singular of esi

References
  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 38

Middle English

Noun

eel

  1. Alternative form of el

Mopan Maya

Verb

eel

  1. to know, to have knowledge of

References
  • Hofling, Charles Andrew (2011). Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, University of Utah Press.
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