leprechaun
Americannoun
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a dwarf or sprite.
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a conventionalized literary representation of this figure as a little old man who will reveal the location of a hidden crock of gold to anyone who catches him.
noun
Etymology
Origin of leprechaun
1595–1605; < Irish leipreachán, lucharachán, MIr luchrapán, lupra ( c ) cán, metathesized forms of Old Irish lúchorp ( án ), equivalent to lú- small + corp body (< Latin corpus ) + -án diminutive suffix
Explanation
A leprechaun is a character in Irish folklore, a small fairy or sprite who wears green and has a sly sense of humor. A leprechaun is typically described as a short old man with a beard, usually wearing a green coat and hat. In Celtic or Irish mythology, leprechauns are shoemakers who store gold coins at the ends of rainbows and love practical jokes. The root of the word leprechaun is the Irish leipreachán, which comes from the Old Irish luchorpan, literally "a very small body."
Vocabulary lists containing leprechaun
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A Mythical Menagerie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He memorably dressed up as a leprechaun, another time as an FBI agent.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2025
As Fintan O'Toole quipped recently in the Irish Times, his country "found the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow without even trying to catch the leprechaun."
From Salon • Dec. 2, 2024
There’s probably a little leprechaun one for St. Patrick’s Day.
From Slate • May 30, 2024
Think of the leprechaun of Ireland, the puckish forest-dwelling aluxe of Mexico, or the grisly krasue of Southeast Asia, a woman whose internal organs hang exposed from her neck down.
From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2023
Ed looked spritelike in his leprechaun costume. straitjacket/straitlaced.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
