leprechaun

See also: Leprechaun

English

Alternative forms

• lepracaun, leprocaun, lurikeen

Etymology

From Irish leipreachán, luprachán, from Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán. See also Irish lucharachán.

The word's further etymology is disputed; it is traditionally explained as a compound containing lú (“small”, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-) +‎ corp (“body”, which is from Latin corpus). However, an alternative suggestion is that it is a derivative of Latin Lupercī (“priests of Lupercus”), who were misinterpreted as an antediluvian species by medieval Irish scholars. Suffix may have been assimilated to Irish -achán (“diminutive”), compare derivation of clurichaun.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛpɹəkɔːn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Note: this pronunciation may be nonstandard or incorrect: sounded like “leprecorn” rather than “leprechaun”

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛpɹəˌkɔn/, /ˈlɛpɹəˌkɑn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

leprechaun (plural leprechauns)

1. (Ireland, folklore) A type of diminutive, solitary fairy or sprite, traditionally depicted as a small, bearded man wearing a green coat and hat, often found repairing a single shoe; they typically possess hidden treasure, such as a pot of gold hidden at the end of a rainbow, and can be forced to reveal its location if captured.
   • 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 375:

     So they wint, an' Tom held the Leprechaun fast in his hand, an' nivir tuk his eyes frum aff uv him, though they had to crass hidges an' ditches, an' a cruked bit uv a bog (fur the Leprechaun seemed, out o' pure mischief, to pick out the hardest and most conthrairy way), till at last they come to a grate field all full o' bolyawn buies, an' the Leprechaun pointed to a big bolyawn, an' sez he, "Dig undher that bolyawn, an' you'll git a crock chuck full o' goulden guineas."

   • 1888, William Allingham, “The Lepracaun; or Fairy Shoemaker”, in William Butler Yeats, editor, Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, pages 86–87:

     Do you not catch the tiny clamour, / Busy click of an elfin hammer, / Voice of the leprechaun singing shrill, / As he merrily plies his trade?

2. (offensive, slang, ethnic slur) An Irish person.

Derived terms

• aleprechaunist
• leprechaunesque
• leprechauness
• leprechaunic
• leprechaunish
• leprechaunism
• leprechaunology
• leprechauny
• leprechology

Descendants

• → Arabic: لِيبْرِيكَان (lībrīkān)
• → French: leprechaun
• → German: Leprechaun
• → Italian: leprecauno, leprechaun (unadapted), leprecano, lepricauno
• → Japanese: レプラコーン (repurakōn)
• → Korean: 레프러콘 (repeureokon)
• → Portuguese: leprechaun
• → Russian: лепреко́н (leprekón)
• → Spanish: leprechaun
• → Ukrainian: лепреко́н (leprekón)

Translations

one of a race of Irish elves

• Afrikaans: leprechaun, kabouter (af)
• Arabic: لِيبْرِيكَان m (lēbrīkān)
• Burmese: လက်ပရားခုန်း (lakpa.ra:hkun:)
• Catalan: follet (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (no exact term exists) （愛爾蘭民間傳說裡的）短妖精 / （爱尔兰民间传说里的）短妖精 ([Àiěrlán mínjiān chuánshuō lǐ de] duǎn yāojing)

• Czech: leprikón m, irský skřítek m
• Dutch: kabouter (nl)
• Esperanto: leprekono
• Estonian: härjapõlvlane
• Finnish: leprekauni
• French: leprechaun (fr) m, lutin irlandais m, farfadet irlandais m, lépricone (fr) m
• Georgian: ლეპრეკონი (leṗreḳoni)
• German: Leprechaun m
• Irish: leipreachán m, luprachán m, lucharachán (ga) m, lucharbán (ga) m, lucharpán (ga) m, luchargán (ga) m, luchorpán m, luchormán m, luchramán (ga) m

  Middle Irish: luchrupán m, luchorpán m

  Old Irish: luchorpán m

• Italian: leprecauno m, leprechaun m
• Japanese: レプラコーン (repurakōn)
• Korean: 레프러콘 (repeureokon)
• Lithuanian: leprekonas m
• Macedonian: ле́прекон m (léprekon)
• Manx: please add this translation if you can
• Marathi: लेप्रकॉन m (leprakŏn)
• Navajo: beʼádíláhí niʼ
• Polish: leprechaun (pl) m, irlandzki skrzat m
• Portuguese: duende irlandês m, leprechaun (pt) m
• Russian: лепреко́н (ru) m (leprekón)
• Scottish Gaelic: lucharban m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: и̑рскӣ вилѐња̄к m

  Latin: ȋrskī vilènjāk m

• Spanish: duende irlandés m, leprechaun m
• Ukrainian: лепреко́н m (leprekón)
• Welsh: leprecon m

Further reading

• leprechaun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lə.pʁə.kɔ̃/

Noun

leprechaun m (plural leprechauns)

1. (Irish folklore) leprechaun

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.pre.kon/, /ˈlɛ.pri.kon/
• Rhymes: -ɛprekon, -ɛprikon

Noun

leprechaun m (invariable)

1. alternative form of leprecauno

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /le.pɾeˈʃa.ũ/, /le.pɾeˈʃaw̃/ [le.pɾeˈʃaʊ̯̃]

Noun

leprechaun m (plural leprechauns)

1. (Irish folklore) leprechaun

   Synonym: duende irlandês

Spanish

Alternative forms

• leprecauno (rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlepɾekaun/ [ˈle.pɾe.kãũn]
  • Rhymes: -epɾekaun
• IPA^(key): /leˈpɾet͡ʃaun/ [leˈpɾe.t͡ʃãũn]
  • Rhymes: -etʃaun
• Syllabification: le‧pre‧chaun

Noun

leprechaun m (plural leprechauns)

1. (Irish folklore) leprechaun

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.