elite
/eɪˈliːt/noun
1
- a group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category, especially because of their power, talent, or wealth精英, 杰出人物：
China's educated elite
受过良好教育的中国精英
as modifier an elite combat force.一支精锐的作战部队。
2
- mass noun a size of letter in typewriting, with 12 characters to the inch (about 4.7 to the centimetre)每英寸为12个字的打字机字型尺寸。
词源
late 18th cent.: from French élite 'selection, choice', from élire 'to elect', from a variant of Latin eligere （see ELECT）. Sense 2 dates from the early 20th cent.