leprechaun

See also: Leprechaun

English

Alternative forms

• lepracaun

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.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

leprechaun (plural leprechauns)

1. (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

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

 

Descendants

• → 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

Translations

one of a race of Irish elves

• Afrikaans: leprechaun, kabouter
• 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

  Roman: ȋrskī vilènjāk m

• Spanish: duende irlandés m, leprechaun m
• Welsh: leprecon m

Further reading

• leprechaun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English leprechaun, from Irish leipreachán.

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.