eleve

Eleve (French: élève) is a French noun meaning a student or pupil. It is widely used in Francophone education to refer to someone enrolled in a school or training program. In everyday usage, the word distinguishes a learner under a teacher from a university student, though distinctions vary by country and institution. The term comes from the verb élever, meaning to raise or bring up, with a noun-forming suffix; the standard plural is élèves. The accented form élève is the conventional spelling in French; the unaccented form eleve appears in contexts where diacritics are unavailable or impractical.

In addition to its general sense in education, élève can denote a follower or apprentice of a master in the arts, such as painting, sculpture, or music, emphasizing mentorship and training.

In dance, a related term, élevé (accented on the first and last e), is a ballet movement meaning raised or rising, typically performed on the balls of the feet. Although spelled similarly, élevé is a distinct word with a specific technical meaning in choreography.

The term may also occur in proper names, titles, or branding, where capitalization signals a name rather than the common noun. Context usually clarifies whether one means a student, a trainee, or a technical term in arts or dance.

Overall, élève is the standard French word for a learner in educational settings, with broader use in arts contexts as a descriptor of mentorship, and with distinct related forms in poetry, music, and ballet.