Origin: 1500–10; earlier
elrich, equiv. to OE
el- foreign, strange, uncanny (
see else ) +
rīce kingdom (
see rich ); hence “of a strange country, pertaining to the Otherworld”; cf. OE
ellende in a foreign
land, exiled (c. G
Elend penury, distress), Runic Norse
alja-markir foreigner
