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elf

[elf]
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noun, plural elves [elvz] /ɛlvz/.
  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.

Origin of elf

before 1000; Middle English, back formation from elven, Old English elfen nymph (i.e., female elf), variant of ælfen; see elfin
Related formself·like, adjective

Synonyms for elf

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1. See fairy.

ELF

  1. extremely low frequency.
Also elf
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for elf

pixie, leprechaun, fairy, brownie, fay, elfin

Examples from the Web for elf

Contemporary Examples of elf

Historical Examples of elf

British Dictionary definitions for elf

elf

noun plural elves (ɛlvz)
  1. (in folklore) one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous
  2. a mischievous or whimsical child
Derived Formselflike, adjective

Word Origin for elf

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

ELF

abbreviation for
  1. extremely low frequency
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for elf
n.

"one of a race of powerful supernatural beings in Germanic folklore," Old English elf (Mercian, Kentish), ælf (Northumbrian), ylfe (plural, West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *albiz (cf. Old Saxon alf, Old Norse alfr, German alp "evil spirit, goblin, incubus"), origin unknown, possibly from PIE *albho- "white." Used figuratively for "mischievous person" from 1550s.

In addition to elf/ælf (masc.), Old English had parallel form *elfen (fem.), the plural of which was *elfenna, -elfen, from Proto-Germanic *albinjo-. Both words survived into Middle English and were active there, the former as elf (with the vowel of the plural), plural elves, the latter as elven, West Midlands dialect alven (plural elvene).

The Germanic elf originally was dwarfish and malicious (cf. Old English ælfadl "nightmare," ælfsogoða "hiccup," thought to be caused by elves); in the Middle Ages they were confused to some degree with faeries; the more noble version begins with Spenser. Nonetheless a popular component in Anglo-Saxon names, many of which survive as modern given names and surnames, cf. Ælfræd "Elf-counsel" (Alfred), Ælfwine "Elf-friend" (Alvin), Ælfric "Elf-ruler" (Eldridge), also women's names such as Ælfflæd "Elf-beauty." Elf Lock hair tangled, especially by Queen Mab, "which it was not fortunate to disentangle" [according to Robert Nares' glossary of Shakespeare] is from 1592.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper