elve

[ elv ]

noun

1. an extremely dim, flattened, expanding, reddish glow briefly seen over a thunderstorm, due to electromagnetic pulses from intense lightning.

elve

/ ĕlv /

1. An extremely dim, short-lived, expanding disk of reddish light above thunderstorms, believed to be caused by electromagnetic pulses from intense lightning in the lower ionosphere. Elves last less than a second and can be as wide as 500 km (310 mi) in diameter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of elve¹

First recorded in 1990–95; e(mission of) l(ight and) v(ery low-frequency perturbations from) e(lectromagnetic pulse sources)

Example Sentences

Troopers and Seward police drove to the home and found Elve with a sword threatening to kill a woman.

From Seattle Times

Alaska State Troopers say Timothy Elve is charged with three counts of felony assault and two counts of misdemeanor assault.

From Seattle Times

Galadriel was the "alpha" elve female - the female equivalent to Feanor and the leader of the elves in Midde Earth. 

From Time

The farmer and his wife, they thought, were too rash to harbour it in their house, for it was not chancy to be at feud with "the good people," who, out of revenge, might shoot his cattle; and, verily, during that summer, a good many had already died of elve shots.

From Project Gutenberg

I can fancy the wee sprites of earth in whatever form they happen to dwell at the moment, beetle or bumblebee, eft or elve, gathering these eagerly by scent and by sight, to store them away below ground for slow transmutations of their own.

From Project Gutenberg