leprechaun
Americannoun
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leprechauns
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
A leprechaun costume at Notre Dame might seem silly, but Parker said Bowden owned it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
There’s probably a little leprechaun one for St. Patrick’s Day.
From Slate ● May 30, 2024
The ends of the rainbows touched down in the rolling fields below me, no place green enough to hide a leprechaun but a fair swap for living with rattlers.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2022
Things go terribly wrong, resulting in a comedic adventure involving an unusual dragon, bunnies in hazmat suits, leprechaun millennials and an overweight German unicorn in a too-tight tracksuit.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
When Dad comes home from looking for a job he holds Margaret and sings to her: In a shady nook one moonlit night A leprechaun I spied.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Speaking of trillion-dollar leprechauns, you will hunt through all 545 pages in vain for those big “DOGE” savings you were promised.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
It is easy-breezy, light spirited — rainbows, leprechauns, good luck, good cheer — it is childlike in its commitment to being pure fun.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024
Three years later came Crock of Gold, with its album cover featuring a painting by Shane MacGowan of leprechauns that resembled the demons that seemed to haunt him throughout his life.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2023
Much of the work that came his way was playing leprechauns, Santa’s elves and other kinds of elves, all roles he refused.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2022
Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
