leprechaun

[lep-ruh-kawn, -kon]

See more synonyms for leprechaun on Thesaurus.com

noun Irish Folklore.

a dwarf or sprite.
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.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for leprechaun

pixie, fairy, gnome, brownie, fay, sprite, elfin

Examples from the Web for leprechaun

Contemporary Examples of leprechaun

Entertainment Weekly named this 2003 movie, the sixth in the Leprechaun series, one of the 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made.
10 Movies Too Awful for the Theater
Shannon Donnelly, The Daily Beast Video
March 28, 2009

Historical Examples of leprechaun

A new light of respect and fear came into the Leprechaun's eyes.
David and the Phoenix
Edward Ormondroyd
In a trice the Phoenix had pounced on the Leprechaun and pinned him to the ground.
David and the Phoenix
Edward Ormondroyd
The Leprechaun's fright was so genuine now that the Phoenix relented and let him go.
David and the Phoenix
Edward Ormondroyd
And so you call my son a leprechaun, and he has legs like raipin' hooks!
Phelim O'toole's Courtship and Other Stories
William Carleton
But there are some say "No, that is not the Amadn-na-Briona, that is the leprechaun."
Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland, Second Series
Lady Gregory

British Dictionary definitions for leprechaun

leprechaun

noun

(in Irish folklore) a mischievous elf, often believed to have a treasure hoard

Word Origin for leprechaun

C17: from Irish Gaelic leipreachān, from Middle Irish lūchorpān, from lū small + corp body, from Latin corpus body

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 leprechaun

c.1600, from Irish lupracan, metathesis from Old Irish luchorpan literally "a very small body," from lu "little" (from PIE *legwh- "having little weight;" see light (adj.)) + corpan, diminutive of corp "body," from Latin corpus "body" (see corporeal). Commonly spelled lubrican in 17c. English. Leithbragan is Irish folk etymology, from leith "half" + brog "brogue," because the spirit was "supposed to be always employed in making or mending a single shoe."