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View synonyms for elf

elf

1

[ elf ]

noun

, plural elves [elvz].
  1. (in folklore) one of a class of preternatural beings, especially from mountainous regions, with magical powers, given to capricious and often mischievous interference in human affairs, and usually imagined to be a diminutive being in human form; sprite; fairy.
  2. a diminutive person, especially a child.
  3. a mischievous person, especially a child.


ELF

2
or elf

abbreviation for

, Radio.

ELF

1

abbreviation for

  1. extremely low frequency


elf

2

/ ɛlf /

noun

  1. (in folklore) one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous
  2. a mischievous or whimsical child

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Derived Forms

  • ˈelfˌlike, adjective

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Other Words From

  • elflike adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of elf1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Old English ælf, elf, ylf, akin to Old High German alp “incubus” ( Middle High German alp , German Alp “nightmare”), Old Norse álfr, Danish alf “elf” ælfen; elfin

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Word History and Origins

Origin of elf1

Old English ælf; related to Old Norse elfr elf, Middle Low German alf incubus, Latin albus white

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Synonym Study

See fairy.

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Example Sentences

And there are no particular elf characters––you just have this one guy.

Inside the “Love” window Elphresh the contortionist elf dances in from of a gold boom-box and 9-foot chrome mushrooms.

The friends were even given military call names - Elf, Bay and Airplane.

Ex-sexy elf Orlando Bloom, without even putting on his Legolas weave, turns Justin Bieber-punching everyman.

At the end of the day, Bloom emerges as an unlikely hero: former sexy elf turned Justin Bieber-punching everyman.

U was an Usurer, a miserable elf; V was a Vintner, who drank all himself.

One day, an Indian boy was playing beside a stream, when one of the little elf men came along in his canoe.

There sat the little elf man, swinging on the tip of a branch, and throwing nuts and twigs at him.

And we left our nervous ogre and our poor little elf to fight out between themselves whatever battle they had to fight.

She looked twice the size, and her smooth coat, entirely free from snarls and elf-locks, made her look as fat as a seal.

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What Is The Plural Of Elf?

Plural word for elf

The plural form of elf is elves, pronounced [ elvz ]. The plurals of some other singular words that end -f are also formed in this way, including leaf/leaves, wife/wives, and knife/knives. A similar change is made when pluralizing hoof as hooves.

Irregular plurals that are formed like elves derive directly from their original pluralization in Old English.

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ElevsísEl Faiyum