life vs elan

life and elan both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
life	Yes	No	No	No
elan	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, elan is a hyponym of life; that is, elan is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than life:

life (noun)	elan (noun)
living things collectively	enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness
animation and energy in action or expression	distinctive and stylish elegance
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities	a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
an account of the series of events making up a person's life
a motive for living
a living person
the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones
the condition of living or the state of being alive
a characteristic state or mode of living
the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living
the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
the period between birth and the present time
the period from the present until death
a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives