else
Adj
- Other; in addition to previously mentioned items.
Adv
- Otherwise, if not.
Conj
- For otherwise; or else.
Adverb
- In addition to what has been mentioned; besides; otherwise.
Examples
- How else (= in what other way) can it be done?
- I'm busy Friday; when else (= what other time) works for you?
- The instructor is busy. Can anyone else help me?
- Then the Wronskian of f and g must be nonzero, else they could not be linearly independent.
- What ELSE could he do but challenge that dubious word?
- Whatever else she may be, she is not a surgeon.
- When all else fails, read the instructions.
Origin / 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 (aîlos), modern Greek αλλιώς (alliós, “otherwise, else”).
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 4
else: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordelse: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
else: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 5
else: valid Words With Friends Word