Elastic

How to spell elastic

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce elastic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does elastic mean?

1. adjectiveAble to stretch and return to its original shape, or flexible and adaptable in plans and arrangements.
2. nounA cord, band, or strip of rubberised material that stretches and recoils.

Elastic in a sentence

• adjective

  The waistband is elastic enough to fit a range of sizes.

• noun

  The elastic in these old pyjama trousers has finally lost its stretch.

• adjective

  Our budget is fairly elastic, so a small overspend will not cause problems.

• noun

  She threaded a length of elastic through the top of the cushion cover.

Where does elastic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek verb elaunein, which meant 'to drive, push, or beat out', and to the related adjective elastikos describing something with a driving or propulsive quality. Scientists working in Latin coined the modern Latin form elasticus in the seventeenth century to describe gases and materials that expand and spring back after being compressed. It reached English in the late 1600s, partly through French elastique, at first as a technical term in the new physics of air and pressure. Over time the meaning broadened from the precise scientific idea of springing back to the everyday sense of any stretchy, flexible material. By the nineteenth century 'elastic' had also settled into a noun naming the rubberised cord or band itself, and the spelling has kept the single 's' and the Greek-flavoured '-ic' ending throughout.

How the word is built

• elast- (from Greek elastikos: able to spring back, from elaunein 'to drive, push out')
• -ic (adjective suffix)