ell

Ell is a term with several distinct, unrelated meanings.

As a letter, ell is the conventional English name for the letter L. In written form, the letter is part of the standard Latin alphabet and appears in spelling, phonetics, and typography just as other letters do.

As a unit of length, the ell is a historical measure used for textiles and cloth. Its exact length varied by country and era, but it is generally characterized as a length longer than a yard and tied to traditional body-based or local standards. With the adoption of the metric system in most places, the ell is now largely obsolete in everyday use, though it appears in historical documents, contracts, and descriptions of antique textiles.

As an architectural term, an ell refers to an extension of a building that projects at right angles to the main block, creating an L-shaped floor plan. This usage is common in architectural history and in descriptions of existing buildings, where an ell describes both appearance and layout.

In summary, ell can denote the name of a letter, a historical unit of length, or a building extension shaped like the letter L. The meanings are unrelated beyond their shared spelling, and the appropriate sense is determined by context.