elf

See also Elf, and 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/, X-SAMPA: /EIf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Noun

elf (plural elves)

Wikipedia

1. (Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy
2. Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. Usually skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.
3. (fantasy) Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse álfar (through Tolkien's Eldar)

Translations

a magical being

• Arabic: آلف (ar) (aalf) m
• Bulgarian: елф (bg) (elf) m
• Catalan: elf (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精靈 (cmn), 精灵 (cmn) (jīnglíng)

• Czech: elf (cs) m
• Danish: alf (da) c
• Dutch: elf (nl), alf (nl)
• Esperanto: elfo (eo)
• Finnish: haltija (fi) (1, eg. of forest), tonttu (fi) (1, belonging to a place, also with Father Christmas), keiju (fi) (1, faery), haltia (fi) (1, Tolkien etc., roleplaying)
• French: elfe (fr) m, lutin (fr) m, farfadet (fr) m
• Galician: elfo (gl) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Elf (de) m, Elfe (de) f, Elb (de) m, Alb (de) m, Alp (de) m

  Middle High German: alb, alp

• Greek: ξωτικό (el) (xotikó) n
• 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) m
• 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 (lt) m, elfė (lt) f
• Macedonian: виленик (mk) (vílenik) m, џуџе (mk) (džúdže) n, елф (mk) (elf) m
• Maltese: nanu (mt), elf (mt)
• Marathi: एल्फ (mr) (elfa) m
• 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
• Scottish Gaelic: sìthiche (gd), luspardan (gd), tàcharan (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: патуљак (sh), вилељак (sh)

  Roman: patuljak (sh), vilenjak (sh)

• Slovak: škriatok (sk) m
• Spanish: elfo (es) m, duende (es) m
• Swahili: kibwengo (sw)
• 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

• IPA: /ɛl(ə)f/

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *lif-. Compare German elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Numeral

Dutch cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12  >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elfde

elf

1. (cardinal) eleven

Noun

elf m, 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, 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, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *lif-. Compare Dutch elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʔɛlf/

• audio

  (file)

Numeral

elf

1. (cardinal) eleven

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Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic أَلْف ('alf).

Numeral

elf m and f (pl elef)

1. thousand

Related terms

• elfejn

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Polish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

elf m (plural elfy)

1. elf, mythical or fantasy creature

Usage notes

The plural for the Tolkien creatures is usually elfowie.