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leprechaun
4 dictionary results for: Leprechaun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
lep·re·chaun 
[lep-ruh-kawn, -kon] Pronunciation Key
[lep-ruh-kawn, -kon] Pronunciation Key –noun Irish Folklore.
| 1. | a dwarf or sprite. |
| 2. | a conventionalized literary representation of this figure as a little old man who will reveal the location of a hidden crock of gold to anyone who catches him. |
[Origin: 1595–1605; < Ir leipreachán, lucharachán, MIr luchrapán, lupra(c)cán, metathesized forms of OIr lúchorp(án), equiv. to lú- small + corp body (< L corpus) + -án dim. suffix]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| lep·re·chaun
(lěp'rĭ-kŏn', -kôn') Pronunciation Key
n. One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them. [Irish Gaelic luprachán, alteration of Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán : luchorp (lú-, small; see legwh- in Indo-European roots + corp, body from Latin corpus; see kwrep- in Indo-European roots) + -án, diminutive suff.] lep're·chaun'ish adj. Word History: Nothing seems more Irish than the leprechaun; yet hiding within the word leprechaun is a word from another language entirely. If we look back beyond Modern Irish Gaelic luprachán and Middle Irish luchrupán to Old Irish luchorpán, we can see the connection. Luchorpán is a compound of Old Irish lú, meaning "small," and the Old Irish word corp, "body." Corp is borrowed from Latin corpus (which we know from habeas corpus). Here is a piece of evidence attesting to the deep influence of Church Latin on the Irish language. Although the word is old in Irish it is fairly new in English, being first recorded in 1604. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
leprechaun
leprechaun
1604, from Ir. lupracan, metathesis from O.Ir. luchorpan lit. "a very small body," from lu "little" + corpan, dim. of corp "body," from L. corpus "body" (see corporeal). Commonly spelled lubrican in 17c. Eng. Leithbragan is Ir. folk etymology, from leith "half" + brog "brogue," because the spirit was "supposed to be always employed in making or mending a single shoe."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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