elf

See also: Elf and ELF

English

An elf drawn by Piedachu Peris

Alternative forms

• elve (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Ultimately probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”). Doublet of oaf.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĕlf, IPA^(key): /ɛlf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Noun

elf (plural elves)

1. (Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.
   • c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Every elf, and fairy sprite, / Hop as light as bird from brier.

2. Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. They are usually delicate-featured and skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 281:

     All the fairy tales of my childhood were conjured up before my startled imagination, and appeared to be realised in the forms which surrounded me; I saw the whole forest filled with trolls, elves, and sporting dwarfs.

3. (fantasy) Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse álfar (through Tolkien's Eldar).
4. A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
5. (South Africa) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for elf in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Synonyms

• (supernatural creature): See goblin (hostile); fairy (small, mischievous)

Hyponyms

• elfe
• elven
• wood elf, wood-elf

Derived terms

• dark elf
• elfette
• elfinwood
• elfish
• Elfland
• elflike
• elflock
• light elf
• wood elf, wood-elf

 

Related terms

• elfin, elven, elvan
• elvish

Descendants

• → Arabic: إِلْف‎ (ʾilf)
• → Dutch: elf
• → German: Elf, Elfe
• → Japanese: エルフ (erufu)
• → Korean: 엘프 (elpeu)

Translations

Norse mythology: luminous spirit dwelling in Álfheim

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精靈 (zh), 精灵 (zh) (jīnglíng)

• Finnish: valohaltia
• French: elfe (fr) m
• Galician: elfo m

• Italian: elfo (it) m
• Latin: alfus m
• Portuguese: elfo (pt) m
• Russian: альв m (alʹv), эльф (ru) m (elʹf)
• Spanish: elfo m
• Swedish: alv (sv) m, älva (sv) f, alf (sv)
• Ukrainian: альв m (alʹv), ельф m (elʹf)

mythical, supernatural being

• Arabic: آلْف‎ (ar) m (ʾālf)
• Bavarian: Åip
• Bulgarian: елф (bg) m (elf)
• Catalan: elf (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精靈 (zh), 精灵 (zh) (jīnglíng)

• Czech: elf (cs) m
• Danish: alf (da) c
• Dutch: elf (nl), alf (nl)
• Esperanto: elfo (eo)
• Estonian: haldjas (et)
• Finnish: haltia (fi), tonttu (fi), keiju (fi), peikko (fi), maahinen (fi)
• French: elfe (fr) m, lutin (fr) m, farfadet (fr) m
• Galician: ouva f
• Georgian: ელფი (elpi)
• German: Elfe (de) m, Elf (de) m, Elb (de) m, Elbe (de) m, Alb (de) m, Alp (de) m; (female) Elbin (de) f, Elfe (de) f, Elfin (de) f

  Middle High German: elbe, alb, alp

• Greek: ξωτικό (el) n (xotikó)
• Hebrew: אלף‎ (he) m (elf)
• Hindi: देव (hi) m (dev), अप्सरा (hi) (apsarā), एल्फ m (elph), एल्फ़ m (elf)
• Hungarian: manó (hu), elf (hu), tündér (hu), tünde (hu)
• Icelandic: álfur (is) m
• Irish: lucharachán (ga), ealbh m
• Italian: elfo (it) m
• Japanese: 妖精 (ja) (ようせい, yōsei), エルフ (erufu)
• Korean: 엘프 (ko) (elpeu), 요정 (ko) (yojeong)

• Latin: alfus m
• Latvian: elfs m, elfa f
• Lithuanian: elfas m, elfė f
• Macedonian: ви́леник m (vílenik), џу́џе n (džúdže), елф m (elf)
• Maltese: nanu, elf (mt)
• Marathi: एल्फ m (elpha)
• Norwegian: alv (no) m
• Old English: ielf
• Old High German: alp
• Old Norse: álfr
• Old Saxon: alf
• Persian: الف‎ (fa) (elf), وروجک‎ (fa) (vorujak)
• Polish: elf (pl) m
• Portuguese: elfo (pt) m
• Romanian: elf (ro)
• Russian: эльф (ru) m (elʹf)
• Scots: eemock
• Scottish Gaelic: sìthiche m, luspardan m, tàcharan m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: патуљак, вилељак

  Roman: patuljak (sh), vilenjak (sh)

• Slovak: škriatok m
• Spanish: elfo m, duende (es) m
• Swahili: kibwengo
• Turkish: elf (tr)
• Ukrainian: ельф m (elʹf)

fantasy: magical, typically forest-guarding creature

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精灵 (zh) (jīnglíng)

• Finnish: haltia (fi)
• French: elfe (fr) m
• Galician: ouva f
• Hungarian: elf (hu), tünde (hu)

• Italian: elfo (it) m
• Latin: alfus m
• Portuguese: elfo (pt) m
• Russian: эльф (ru) m (elʹf)
• Spanish: elfo m
• Swedish: alv (sv) c

very diminutive person — see dwarf

Verb

elf (third-person singular simple present elfs, present participle elfing, simple past and past participle elfed)

1. (now rare) To twist into elflocks (of hair); to mat.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear

     My face I'll grime with filth, blanket my loins, elf all my hairs in knots, and with presented nakedness outface the winds and persecutions of the sky.

See also

• dark elf & light elf
• fairy
• brownie
• dwarf
• hobbit
• Eldar

References

• Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races Series, Volume 2 Eddic, Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220-221.

Anagrams

• EFL

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Afrikaans

Afrikaans cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12  >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elfde

Etymology

From Dutch elf, from Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/

• Audio (AF)

  (file)

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

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Catalan

Noun

elf m (plural elfs)

1. elf

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Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlf]

Noun

elf m

1. elf

Declension

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	elf	elfové
genitive	elfa	elfů
dative	elfu, elfovi	elfům
accusative	elfa	elfy
vocative	elfe	elfové
locative	elfu, elfovi	elfech
instrumental	elfem	elfy

Derived terms

• elfí

Further reading

• elf in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• elf in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛl(ə)f/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: elf
• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *-lif. Compare German elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Numeral

Dutch numbers ^(edit)

←  10	11	12  →
Cardinal: elf     Ordinal: elfde

elf

1. eleven

Noun

elf f (plural elven, diminutive elfje n)

1. The number eleven, or a representation thereof.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: elf
• Berbice Creole Dutch: alfu, elfu
• Jersey Dutch: ālf
• Negerhollands: elf, elef
• Skepi Creole Dutch: elk

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Elf, itself borrowed from English elf, from Old English ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Displaced native alf, from the same Germanic source.

Noun

elf m (plural elfen or elven, diminutive elfje n, feminine elve or elfin)

1. elf, brownie (small folkloric creature)
2. (fantasy) elf (humanoid pointy-eared creature in fantasy)

Synonyms

• (mythical being): alf

Derived terms

• boself
• elfenbank
• elfin
• kerstelf
• woudelf

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: èlfye (from the diminutive)

Anagrams

• fel
• lef

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Dutch Low Saxon

Etymology

From Low German, from Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan. Related to German elf.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven (11)

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German

German cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12  >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elfte

Alternative forms

• eilf, eilff, eylf, eylff (all obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German eilf, eilef, einlif, from Old High German einlif, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *-lif. Until the 19th century usually written eilf; the monophthongal form is of Central and Low German origin (Middle Low German elf). Compare Dutch elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/, [ʔɛlf]

• audio

  (file)

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Coordinate terms

Cardinal numbers from 0 to 99

	—0	—1	—2	—3	—4	—5	—6	—7	—8	—9
0—	null	eins	zwei	drei	vier	fünf	sechs	sieben	acht	neun
1—	zehn	elf	zwölf	dreizehn	vierzehn	fünfzehn (fuffzehn)	sechzehn	siebzehn (siebenzehn)	achtzehn	neunzehn
2—	zwanzig	einundzwanzig	zweiundzwanzig	dreiundzwanzig	vierundzwanzig	fünfundzwanzig	sechsundzwanzig	siebenundzwanzig	achtundzwanzig	neunundzwanzig
3—	dreißig	einunddreißig	zweiunddreißig	dreiunddreißig	vierunddreißig	fünfunddreißig	sechsunddreißig	siebenunddreißig	achtunddreißig	neununddreißig
4—	vierzig	einundvierzig	zweiundvierzig	dreiundvierzig	vierundvierzig	fünfundvierzig	sechsundvierzig	siebenundvierzig	achtundvierzig	neunundvierzig
5—	fünfzig (fuffzig)	einundfünfzig	zweiundfünfzig	dreiundfünfzig	vierundfünfzig	fünfundfünfzig	sechsundfünfzig	siebenundfünfzig	achtundfünfzig	neunundfünfzig
6—	sechzig	einundsechzig	zweiundsechzig	dreiundsechzig	vierundsechzig	fünfundsechzig	sechsundsechzig	siebenundsechzig	achtundsechzig	neunundsechzig
7—	siebzig (siebenzig)	einundsiebzig	zweiundsiebzig	dreiundsiebzig	vierundsiebzig	fünfundsiebzig	sechsundsiebzig	siebenundsiebzig	achtundsiebzig	neunundsiebzig
8—	achtzig	einundachtzig	zweiundachtzig	dreiundachtzig	vierundachtzig	fünfundachtzig	sechsundachtzig	siebenundachtzig	achtundachtzig	neunundachtzig
9—	neunzig	einundneunzig	zweiundneunzig	dreiundneunzig	vierundneunzig	fünfundneunzig	sechsundneunzig	siebenundneunzig	achtundneunzig	neunundneunzig

Cardinal numbers from 100 onward

• 100: hundert, einhundert
• 10³: tausend, eintausend
• 10⁴: zehntausend (Myriade)
• 10⁶: Million (tausendmaltausend, tausendtausend)
• 10⁹: Milliarde
• 10¹²: Billion
• 10¹⁵: Billiarde
• 10¹⁸: Trillion
• 10²¹: Trilliarde
• 10²⁴: Quadrillion
• 10²⁷: Quadrilliarde
• 10³⁰: Quintillion
• 10³³: Quintilliarde
• 10³⁶: Sextillion
• 10³⁹: Sextilliarde
• 10⁴²: Septillion
• 10⁴⁵: Septilliarde
• 10⁴⁸: Oktillion
• 10⁵¹: Oktilliarde
• 10⁵⁴: Nonillion
• 10⁵⁷: Nonilliarde
• 10⁶⁰: Dezillion
• 10⁶³: Dezilliarde
• 10⁶⁶: Undezillion
• 10⁶⁹: Undezilliarde
• 10⁷²: Duodezillion
• 10⁷⁵: Duodezilliarde
• 10⁷⁸: Tredezillion
• 10⁸¹: Tredezilliarde
• 10⁸⁴: Quattuordezillion
• 10⁸⁷: Quattuordezilliarde

…

• 10¹⁰⁰: Googol

…

• 10¹²⁰: Vigintillion
• 10¹²³: Vigintilliarde

…

Derived terms

• Elf
• elffach
• Elfeck
• elfeckig
• elfstellig
• elfstündig

Further reading

• “elf” in Duden online

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German Low German

Alternative forms

• eleve, ölve, ölven

Etymology

From Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

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Maltese

Maltese numbers ^(edit)

	10000
	1,000
	100
Cardinal: elf

Etymology

From Arabic أَلْف‎ (ʾalf).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/

Numeral

elf m or f (dual elfejn, plural eluf or elufijiet, paucal elef)

1. thousand

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• elfe, helfe

Etymology

From Old English elf, Anglian form of ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/

Noun

elf (plural elves)

1. elf, fairy
   • c. 1450, Wars of Alexander‎^[1], Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, passus 24, line 5258:

     Scho was so faire & so fresche · as faucon hire semed, / An elfe out of an-othire erde · or ellis an Aungell

     She was so fair and beautiful; her elegance seemed like / An elf out of another world, or else an angel.

   • c. 1450, “The Second Shepherds' Play”, in The Towneley Plays‎^[2], Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, line 616:

     he was takyn with an elfe / I saw it myself / when the clok stroke twelf / was he forshapyn

     He was taken by an elf; I saw it myself. / When the clock struck twelve, he was transfigured.

2. spirit, shade

Related terms

• elven
• elvyssh

Descendants

• English: elf (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: elf
• Yola: elf

References

• “elf, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-12.

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Pennsylvania German

Pennsylvania German cardinal numbers

<  10	11	12  >
Cardinal : elf     Ordinal : elft

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlf/

Etymology

From Rhine Franconian, from Old High German einlif. Compare German elf, Dutch elf, English eleven.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

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Polish

Etymology

From German Elf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

elf m anim

1. elf (mythical or fantasy creature)

Declension

Declension of elf

	singular	plural
nominative	elf	elfy
genitive	elfa	elfów
dative	elfowi	elfom
accusative	elfa	elfy
instrumental	elfem	elfami
locative	elfie	elfach
vocative	elfie	elfy

Usage notes

The plural for the Tolkien creatures is usually elfowie.

Declension of elf

	singular	plural
nominative	elf	elfowie
genitive	elfa	elfów
dative	elfowi	elfom
accusative	elfa	elfów
instrumental	elfem	elfami
locative	elfie	elfach
vocative	elfie	elfowie

Derived terms

• (adjective) elfi

Further reading

• elf in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• elf in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romanian

Etymology

From French elfe.

Noun

elf m (plural elfi)

1. elf

Declension

Declension of elf

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) elf	elful	(niște) elfi	elfii
genitive/dative	(unui) elf	elfului	(unor) elfi	elfilor
vocative	elfule		elfilor

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Yola

Etymology

From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi.

Noun

elf (plural elvès)

1. fairy

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith