elf

See also Elf

See also ELF

English

An elf drawn by Piedachu Peris

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English ælf (“incubus, elf”), from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĕlf, IPA: /ɛlf/, SAMPA: /EIf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Noun

elf (plural elves)

Wikipedia

1. A mythical, supernatural being resembling but seen as distinct from humans.
2. (Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.
3. (fantasy) Any of the magical, humanoid, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse álfar (through Tolkien's Eldar).

Translations

a mythical being

Arabic: قزم (ar) (qázam) m. Bosnian: patuljak (bs) Bulgarian: елф (bg) m. Catalan: elf (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 精靈 (zh), 精灵 (zh) (jīnglíng) Croatian: vilenjak, patuljak Czech: elf (cs) m. Danish: alf (da) c. Dutch: elf (1), alf Esperanto: elfo (eo) Finnish: haltija (1, eg. of forest), tonttu (1, belonging to a place, also with Father Christmas), keiju (1, faery), haltia (1, Tolkien etc., roleplaying) French: elfe (fr) m., lutin (fr) m., farfadet (fr) m. Galician: elfo German: Elf (de) m., Elfe (de) f., Elb (de) m., Alb (de) m., Alp (de) m. Middle High German: alb, alp Greek: ξωτικά (el) (xotiká) Hebrew: אלף  (he) (elff) m. Hindi: देव (hi) (dev) m. Hungarian: manó (hu), elf (hu), tündér (hu), tünde (hu) Icelandic: álfur (is) m. Irish: lucharachán (ga)

Italian: elfo (it) Japanese: 妖精 (ja) (ようせい, yōsei), エルフ (ja) (erufu) Korean: 엘프 (ko) (elpeu), 요정 (ko) (yojeong) Latvian: elfs (lv) m., elfa (lv) f. Lithuanian: elfas m.; elfė f. Macedonian: виленик (mk) (vílenik) m., џуџе (mk) (džúdže) n., елф (mk) (elf) m. Maltese: nanu, elf Norwegian: alv (no) m. Old English: ælf (ang) Old High German: alp Old Norse: álfr Old Saxon: alf Polish: elf (pl) m. Portuguese: elfo (pt) m. Romanian: elf (ro) Russian: эльф (ru) (elʹf) m., альв (ru) (alʹv) m. Scots: eemock (sco) Scottish Gaelic: sìthiche, luspardan, tàcharan Serbian: патуљак (sr), patuljak (sr) Slovak: škriatok m. Spanish: elfo (es), duende (es) Swedish: alv (sv) m.; älva (sv) f.; (concerning Old Norse belief, sometimes) alf (sv) Turkish: elf (tr) Ukrainian: ельф (uk) (elʹf) m., альв (uk) (alʹv) m.

Derived terms

elfin elfinwood elfish Elfland elflock

elven elvish light elves dark elves

See also

• fay
• fairy
• brownie
• dwarf
• hobbit

References

• Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races Series, Volume 2 Eddic, Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220-221.

Anagrams

• EFL

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch elf, from Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif-.

Numeral

elf

1. (cardinal) eleven

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Catalan

Noun

elf m. (plural elfs)

1. elf

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Czech

Noun

elf m.

1. An elf.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif-.

Numeral

Dutch cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12   >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elfde

elf

1. (cardinal) eleven

Noun

elf m. and f. (plural elven, diminutive elfje)

1. The number eleven, or a representation thereof.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Elf, borrowed from English elf, from Old English ælf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Displaced native alf, from the same Germanic source.

Noun

elf m. and f. (plural elfen, diminutive elfje)

1. elf (mythical creature)
2. brownie

Anagrams

• fel
• lef

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German

German cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12   >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elfte

See also Elf

Etymology

From Old High German einlif.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʔɛlf/

• audio

  (file)

Numeral

elf

1. (cardinal) eleven

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Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic أَلْف ('alf).

Cardinal number

elf mf (pl elef)

1. thousand

Related terms

• elfejn

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Polish

Noun

elf m. (plural elfy)

1. elf, mythical or fantasy creature

Usage notes

The plural for the Tolkien creatures is usually elfowie.