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 (mixed, genitive Albs or Albes, plural Alben)

1. (Germanic mythology) elf, especially an evil one

   Synonyms: Elf, Elb, Elbe

Declension

Declension of Alb [masculine, mixed]

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

¹Now rare, see notes.

Noun

Alb m (strong, genitive Albs or Albes, plural Albe)

1. (Germanic folklore) creature that sits on one's chest while one sleeps
2. nightmare (formerly believed to be caused by such a creature)
3. (figurative, higher register) mental oppression, anxiety

Usage notes

• The spelling Alb has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform).
• The spelling Alb has been an optional spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform) as of 2006.

Declension

Declension of Alb [masculine, strong]

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

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Albdruck
• Alberich
• Albtraum

Etymology 2

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

Noun

Alb f (genitive Alb, plural Alben)

1. (regional) 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, page 71: “Alb² .. (veralt.: Kobold) goblin believed to give sleeping people nightmares..”
• Thode, Ernest (1992) German-English Genealogical Dictionary‎^[2], Genealogical Publishing Com, →ISBN, page 9: “Alb - mountain; hill; ridge; escarpment; upland area..”
• Betterridge, Harold T. (1978) Cassell's German-English English-German Dictionary, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 9: “¹Alb 1. elf, .. 2. nighmare. ²Alb (dial.) alp(s)..”

Further reading

• “Alb” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Alb (Gebirge)” in Duden online
• “Alb (Last, Bedrückung, Wesen)” in Duden online
• “Alb (Naturgeist)” in Duden online

Romanian

Etymology

From alb.

Proper noun

Alb m (genitive/dative lui Alb)

1. a surname