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elfin

[ el-fin ]
/ ˈɛl fɪn /
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adjective

of or like an elf.
small and charmingly spritely, merry, or mischievous.

noun

an elf.

RELATED WORDS

delicate, devilish, disobedient, elfish, frolicsome, impish, little, minute, naughty, petite, playful, puckish, puny, slight, sprightly, tiny, misbehaving, prankish, rascally

Nearby words

  1. elevon,
  2. elevsís,
  3. elf,
  4. elf owl,
  5. elf-cup,
  6. elfin forest,
  7. elfinwood,
  8. elfish,
  9. elfishly,
  10. elfland

Origin of elfin

1560–70; alteration of Middle English elven elf, Old English elfen, ælfen nymph, equivalent to ælf elf + -en feminine suffix (cognate with German -in); ælf cognate with German Alp nightmare, puck, Old Norse alfr elf
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for elfin

British Dictionary definitions for elfin

elfin

/ (ˈɛlfɪn) /

adjective

of, relating to, or like an elf or elves
small, delicate, and charming
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 elfin

elfin

adj.

1590s, from elf; first found in Spenser, who may have been thinking of elven but the word also is a proper name in the Arthurian romances (Elphin).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper