elf

¹

[ elf ]

noun

, plural elves [elvz].

1. (in folklore) one of a class of preternatural beings, especially from mountainous regions, with magical powers, given to capricious and often mischievous interference in human affairs, and usually imagined to be a diminutive being in human form; sprite; fairy.
2. a diminutive person, especially a child.
3. a mischievous person, especially a child.

ELF

²

or elf

abbreviation for

, Radio.

1. extremely low frequency.

ELF

¹

abbreviation for

1. extremely low frequency

elf

²

/ ɛlf /

noun

1. (in folklore) one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous
2. a mischievous or whimsical child

Derived Forms

• ˈelfˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• elflike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of elf¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Old English ælf, elf, ylf, akin to Old High German alp “incubus” ( Middle High German alp , German Alp “nightmare”), Old Norse álfr, Danish alf “elf” ælfen; elfin

Word History and Origins

Origin of elf¹

Old English ælf; related to Old Norse elfr elf, Middle Low German alf incubus, Latin albus white

Synonym Study

See fairy.

Example Sentences

And there are no particular elf characters––you just have this one guy.

From The Daily Beast

Inside the “Love” window Elphresh the contortionist elf dances in from of a gold boom-box and 9-foot chrome mushrooms.

From The Daily Beast

The friends were even given military call names - Elf, Bay and Airplane.

From The Daily Beast

Ex-sexy elf Orlando Bloom, without even putting on his Legolas weave, turns Justin Bieber-punching everyman.

From The Daily Beast

At the end of the day, Bloom emerges as an unlikely hero: former sexy elf turned Justin Bieber-punching everyman.

From The Daily Beast

U was an Usurer, a miserable elf; V was a Vintner, who drank all himself.

From Project Gutenberg

One day, an Indian boy was playing beside a stream, when one of the little elf men came along in his canoe.

From Project Gutenberg

There sat the little elf man, swinging on the tip of a branch, and throwing nuts and twigs at him.

From Project Gutenberg

And we left our nervous ogre and our poor little elf to fight out between themselves whatever battle they had to fight.

From Project Gutenberg

She looked twice the size, and her smooth coat, entirely free from snarls and elf-locks, made her look as fat as a seal.

From Project Gutenberg