Élevées

Élevées is the feminine plural form of the French adjective élevé and of the past participle élevé. It agrees with feminine plural nouns. As an adjective, élevé means raised, elevated, or high, so élevées describes feminine plural instances such as montagnes élevées (high mountains) or voix élevées (high-pitched voices). As a past participle, élevé derives from élever and can appear in compound tenses or passive constructions, where the feminine plural form becomes élevées (for example, les filles élevées or des pièces élevées in contextually appropriate sentences).

Etymology and form: the word comes from Latin elevāre, via Old French elevier or elevier, with the modern French form evolving into élever and élevant. The feminine plural ending -ées is part of the broader pattern in French where many adjectives and past participles adopt -ées to agree with feminine plural nouns.

Usage notes: élevées is common in geographic and architectural descriptions (des collines élevées, des planchers élevés), in discussions of social manners (des filles bien élevées), and in literary or descriptive prose to convey height, loftiness, or cultivated refinement. The meaning can vary with context: physical height is the default in geography, while connotations of upbringing or refinement appear in social phrases.

See also: élevé, élever, élevage.