elf

[elf]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR elf ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural elves [elvz] /ɛlvz/.

(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.

a diminutive person, especially a child.

a mischievous person, especially a child.

Nearby words

Origin of elf

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

SYNONYMS FOR elf

1. See fairy.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR elf ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formself·like, adjective

ELF

extremely low frequency.

Also elf

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for elf

The friends were even given military call names - Elf, Bay and Airplane.
Bitter Survivors and Caravans of Coffins from Ukraine’s “Eastern Boiler”|Anna Nemtsova|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I knew right then: Elf is the ultimate light-hearted Christmas movie.
Elf’s 10th Anniversary: I’m Still Obsessed With This Syrupy Movie|Anna Brand|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Elf is pegged as a Christmas movie, but it hardly feels religious.
Elf’s 10th Anniversary: I’m Still Obsessed With This Syrupy Movie|Anna Brand|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He had customized his new gun by etching in the words “better off this way” and “my ELF weapon.”
Inside the Washington Navy Yard’s Building 197 During Alexis’s Rampage|Michael Daly|September 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Elvis (n.): A Christmas elf, as misinterpreted by Alana, who in one episode mistakes, “Elvis helps Santa Claus make toys.”
‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’: A Glossary|Kevin Fallon|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The elf was looking at me with a mixture of surprise and pity.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom|Cory Doctorow
There a man had by the ordinary device obtained an elf as a wife; and she bore him a child.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
Daylight found Vera tossing and turning, while Elf was dreaming.
Dorothy Dainty at Glenmore|Amy Brooks
Really, you know it is the Imp and the Elf who are writing this book.
The Child's Book of the Seasons|Arthur Ransome
The affrighted Elf sobbed bitterly, as the greedy saw began with iron tooth to devour the foundations of her dwelling.
Translations from the German (Vol 3 of 3)|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for elf

elf

noun plural elves (ɛlvz)

(in folklore) one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous

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

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

elf

"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.

elf