elbow

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈɛlˌboʊ/ UK /ˈɛlbəʊ̯/ See IPA manual

Freq #7715

Meanings

1

noun
The joint in the middle of your arm where it bends.

He leaned on the table with his elbows.
2

verb
To push someone or make your way using your elbows.

He elbowed his way through the crowd.
3

noun
A bend or angle in something, such as a pipe.

Water was leaking from the elbow in the pipe.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the joint in the middle of... elbow joint

Word family

Forms elbowedelbowingelbows

Derived forms all-elbowselbow-chairelbow-deepelbowednesselbowerelbowfulelbowgateelbowlesselbowlikeelbowroomelbowyout-at-elbow

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

elbow room
enough physical space to move comfortably

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Elbow is an Old English word whose formation reflects the joint’s bent or bowed shape. Its first element is related to ell, an old measure originally based on the distance from the elbow to the fingertips.

Etymology

From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish and Norwegian albue (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).

*Heh₃l- Proto-Indo-European elbowe Middle English elboga Old English *alinabugô Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# elbow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɛlˌboʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɛlbəʊ̯/
**Frequency rank:** 7715

## Meanings
1. The joint in the middle of your arm where it bends.
2. To push someone or make your way using your elbows.
3. A bend or angle in something, such as a pipe.

## Examples
- He leaned on the table with his elbows.
- He elbowed his way through the crowd.
- Water was leaking from the elbow in the pipe.

## Derived Forms
- all-elbows
- elbow-chair
- elbow-deep
- elbowedness
- elbower
- elbowful
- elbowgate
- elbowless
- elbowlike
- elbowroom
- elbowy
- out-at-elbow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *Heh₃l-
- Root: elbowe
- Root: elboga
- Root: *alinabugô

## Etymology
From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish and Norwegian albue (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).

## AI Etymology
Elbow comes from Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish and Norwegian albue (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).

## Topics
- The Human Body

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