Alb

See also: alb, ALB, alb., and Alb.

German

Alternative forms

• Alp

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alp/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German alb, alp, from Old High German alp, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós. Doublet of Elf, borrowed from English later.

Noun

Alb m (genitive Albs or Albes or Alben, plural Alben)

1. elf, especially an evil one

   Synonyms: Elf, Elb, Elbe

2. nightmare or physical ailment (formerly believed to be caused by an elf sitting on one's chest while one slept)

Declension

Declension of Alb

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Alb	die	Alben
genitive	eines	des	Albes, Albs	der	Alben
dative	einem	dem	Alb, Albe1	den	Alben
accusative	einen	den	Alb	die	Alben

¹Now uncommon, see notes

Derived terms

• Albdruck
• Alberich
• Albtraum

Etymology 2

From Alemannic German Alp, from Middle High German albe, from Old High German alba.

Alb f

1. (dialectal) mountainous area, upland

   Schwäbische Alb ― Swabian Jura

References

• Thyen, Olaf (and Michael Clark, Werner Scholze-Stubenrecht, Bradbury Sykes (1999) The Oxford-Duden German Dictionary: German-English, English-German‎^[1], Oxford University Press, →ISBN: “Alb² .. (veralt.: Kobold) goblin believed to give sleeping people nightmares..”
• Thode, Ernest (1992) German-English Genealogical Dictionary‎^[2], Genealogical Publishing Com, →ISBN: “Alb - mountain; hill; ridge; escarpment; upland area..”
• Betterridge, Harold T. (1978) Cassell's German-English English-German Dictionary, Macmillan, →ISBN: “¹Alb 1. elf, .. 2. nighmare. ²Alb (dial.) alp(s)..”