else

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.

   The instructor is busy. Can anyone else help me?

2. 2
   adv

   Otherwise, if not.

   How else (= in what other way) can it be done?

3. 3
   conj

   For otherwise; or else.

   Then the Wronskian of f and g must be nonzero, else they could not be linearly independent.

4. 4
   name

   A surname.

Etymology

From Middle English ells, elles, from Old English elles (“other, otherwise, different”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljas, from Proto-Germanic *aljas (“of another, of something else”), genitive of *aljaz (“other”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos, from *h₂el- (“other”). Cognate with Old Frisian elles (“other”), Old High German elles, ellies (“other”), Danish eller (“or”), Danish ellers (“otherwise”), Swedish eljes, eljest (“or else, otherwise”), Norwegian elles (“else, otherwise”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌹𐍃 (aljis, “other”), Latin alius (“other, another”), Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos), Arcadocypriot αἶλος…