elf
/ɛlf/ noun, verb
Forms elves elfs elfing elfed elve
- noun (Germanic mythology) A supernatural being or spirit associated with illness, mischief, and harmful or dangerous magical influence; in later Norse sources, sometimes divided into benevolent light elves (inhabiting Álfheimr) and malevolent dark elves.
- noun (folklore) A small, magical creature similar to a fairy, often mischievous, playful, or occasionally helpful.
- noun (fantasy) A member of a race of tall, slender, graceful beings with pointed ears, typically immortal or very long-lived and possessing wisdom and magical abilities.
- noun (obsolete) A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
- noun (South Africa) Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).
- verb (now rare) To twist into elflocks (of hair); to mat.
Synonyms
goblin fairy hob gremlin pixie pixy brownie imp extremely low frequency
Etymology
From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Ultimately probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”). Doublet of alf, awf, and oaf. The modern fantasy literature sense was popularised by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An imaginary supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous tricks.
- noun A very diminutive person; a dwarf. Elf arrow, a flint arrowhead; - -so called by the English rural folk who often find these objects of prehistoric make in the fields and formerly attributed them to fairies; --called also elf bolt, elf dart, and elf shot.
- verb To entangle mischievously, as an elf might do. Elf all my hair in knots. Shak.
Etymology [AS. ælf, ylf; akin to MHG. alp, G. alp nightmare, incubus, Icel. elf, Sw. alf, elfva; cf. Skr. rbhu skillful, artful, rabh to grasp. Cf. Auf, Oaf.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “elf”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details