[Fr.; believed to be f. élancer (see next).] a. An impetuous rush (e.g., of troops). b. In Eng. use chiefly abstr.: Ardor, impetuousness, vivacity.
1880. Burton, Reign Q. Anne, III. xiv. 22. With the first charge—the élan as they like to call it, the French seemed to carry all before them.
1880. Fraser’s Mag., May, 651. The unquenchable élan of boyhood.
