Past tense of 'elapse', meaning time that has passed or gone by, especially in reference to a measured duration.
From Latin 'elapsus', past participle of 'elabi' meaning 'to slip away', from 'ex-' (out) + 'labi' (to slip or glide). The word entered English in the 17th century, maintaining the metaphorical sense of time slipping away like water.
The Latin root 'labi' (to slip) gives us both 'elapsed' and 'lapse' - time doesn't march or stride, it slips away! This ancient metaphor suggests humans have always experienced time as something that escapes our grasp, flowing past us like a stream we cannot hold.
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