leprechaun
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
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).[1] 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.[2]
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈlɛpɹəkɔːn/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˈlɛprəˌkɔn/, /ˈlɛprəˌkɑn/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun edit
leprechaun (plural leprechauns)
- (Irish folklore) One of a race of elves that can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.
- 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?
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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References edit
- ^ “leprechaun, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1902.
- ^ Jacopo Bisagni (2012) “Leprechaun: A New Etymology”, in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, volume 64, pages 46–84
Further reading edit
- leprechaun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Italian edit
Alternative forms edit
- leprecano, lepricauno, leprecauno (adapted forms)
Etymology edit
Borrowed from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán, luprachán, from Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán, of disputed etymology.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
leprechaun m (invariable)
- (Irish folklore) leprechaun
Derived terms edit
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
leprechaun m (invariable)
- (Irish folklore) leprechaun
- Synonym: duende irlandês