Elf

See also: elf and ELF

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔɛlf/

Etymology 1

From elf (“eleven”).

Noun

1. (a group of) eleven
2. football team, XI (so called because eleven is the number of players on such a team)

Hyponyms

• Nationalelf

Etymology 2

Borrowed from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] English elf in 18th century literature, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English ælf, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Alternative forms

• Elfe

Noun

Elf m (genitive Elfen, plural Elfen)

1. elf
   • 1762, Christoph Martin Wieland, transl., Ein St. Johannis Nachts-Traum, translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 1:

     So heftig ist ihr Zwist, daß alle ihre Elfen / Vor Angst in Ahorn-Becher sich verkriechen.

     But they do square, that all their Elues for feare / Creepe into Acorne cups and hide them there.

Synonyms

• Alb (Alp)
• Elb (Elbe)

Derived terms

• Elfe, Elfin (female forms)
• elfisch

Related terms

Terms derived from Elf or Elfe:

• Elfenkönig
• elfenhaft

References

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