erlking

[url-king]

noun

1. a spirit or personified natural power that works mischief, especially to children.

erlking

/ ˈɜːlˌkɪŋ /

noun

1. German myth a malevolent spirit who carries children off to death

Word History and Origins

Origin of erlking¹

1790–1800; < German Erlkönig alder (tree) king, J. G. von Herder's mistrans. of Danish ellerkonge, variant of elverkonge king of the elves

Word History and Origins

Origin of erlking¹

C18: from German Erlkönig, literally: alder king, coined in 1778 by Herder, a mistranslation of Danish ellerkonge king of the elves

Example Sentences

And in this story, the gold-spinning lie is her own — a tale spun to save two magical maidens from the Erlking.

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“The Erlking,” the first story in “Likes” by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, has all of the elements that appear in the rest of the book.

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This blurring of the real and unreal, of fictional dreams and waking life, is a feature of other stories in “Likes,” such as “The Erlking” or “The Young Wife’s Tale.”

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Georges Schwizgebel – “Erlking,” “Romance”

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Erlking, Liszt arrangement of the, 32.

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