alf

See also: Alf, ALF, älf, and 'alf

English

Etymology

From Danish and Swedish alf, from Old Norse alfr; see also Dutch alf. Doublet of elf and oaf.

Noun

alf (plural alfs)

1. (Norse mythology) A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.
   • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 248:

     As the Scandinavians were at that time still worshippers of Thor and Odin, the belief in Alfs and Dwarfs accompanied them to their new abodes, and there, as elsewhere, survived the introduction of Christianity.

   • 2023, Kveldulf Gundarsson, Elves, Wights & Trolls, The Three Little Sisters, page 83:

     [T]he charm suggests rather that the Ases had sunk to a level where they could be counted together with witches and lesser wights, than that the alfs were seen as godly beings at the time the charm was composed.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

alf c (singular definite alfen, plural indefinite alfer)

1. fairy
2. elf

Declension

Declension of alf

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	alf	alfen	alfer	alferne
genitive	alfs	alfens	alfers	alfernes

Derived terms

• alfedans c
• alfedronning c
• alfelet
• alfepige c
• lysalf c
• svartalf c

References

• “alf” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch alf, from Old Dutch *alf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós. Doublet with Dutch elf (“elf”), a modern borrowing from English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑlf/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: alf
• Rhymes: -ɑlf

Noun

alf m (plural alven, diminutive alfje n, feminine alve)

1. a type of folkloristic humanoid or spirit; an elf

Synonyms

• (mythical being): elf

Derived terms

• alvermannetje

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *alf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

alf m

1. elf, evil spirit

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: alf

Further reading

• “alf”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “alf”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Old Norse

Noun

alf

1. accusative singular of alfr

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

alf m

1. elf

Declension

Declension of alf (masculine a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	alf	alvos
accusative	alf	alvos
genitive	alves	alvō
dative	alve	alvum
instrumental	—	—

Plautdietsch

Numeral

alf

1. eleven

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

alf c

1. Alternative spelling of alv (“elf”)

Usage notes

• The word alf (alfven, alfver) turned into alv (alven, alver) in the 1906 spelling reform. Somehow, the old form also lives on, but now with different inflected forms.

Declension

Declension of alf
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	alf	alfen	alfer	alferna
Genitive	alfs	alfens	alfers	alfernas

Obsolete:

Declension of alf
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	alf	alfven	alfver	alfverna
Genitive	alfs	alfvens	alfvers	alfvernas

Anagrams

• fal

Vilamovian

Vilamovian cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12  >
Cardinal : alf     Ordinal : alfty

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alf/

• Audio

  (file)

Numeral

ȧlf

1. eleven

West Frisian

Numeral

alf

1. Alternative form of alve