Etymologically
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elf

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English elf, plural elves, earlier alve,[2][3] inherited from Old English elf, the Mercian and Kentish form,[4][5][6] beside ælf.[4][2][7] These come from Proto-Germanic *albiz,[4][6][8] the source also of Old Saxon alf, Middle Low German alf (“evil spirit”), Middle Dutch alf, Old High German alb, German Alp (“nightmare”) and Old Norse álfr.[9][4][2][5] The further origin is unknown according to Etymonline and Barnhart,[4][2] but the OED and MW connect it, probably, with Latin albus (“white”),[9][10] and Watkins with an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *albho- (“white”);[4][11] Klein calls the link with albus a folk etymology.[12] The Old Norse word is the source of oaf.[13][9] The modern German word Elf (“benign spirit”) is apparently a borrowing from English, which Weekley dates to Wieland's translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1764), and Dutch elf probably a borrowing from German.[9][14] Old English also had a feminine form, surviving in Middle English as elven.[4][3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Germanic mythology, a supernatural being in human form with magical powers, able to help or harm people: in an early Old English charm, the Elf-Salve, and, in the sense of a monster or demon, in Beowulf.[9][2]

Semantic evolution

Elves were at first powerful and frightening beings, blamed for diseases and nightmares and for stealing children and leaving changelings,[15][4][13] so that Old English had ælfādl (“nightmare”) and ælfsogoða (“hiccup”).[4][7] In the Middle Ages they were partly confused with fairies,[4] and since the 16th century they shrank into small, mischievous sprites;[13][6] the more noble elf goes back to Spenser,[4] and Tolkien later made elves noble and beautiful.[15] From 1530 elf was also a small person, from 1568 a child, and since 1533 a mischievous or malicious person.[9][4] The small helper of Santa Claus at the North Pole is recorded from 1850,[9] and since 1882 an elf could be someone who works busily behind the scenes.[9] The word was a common element in Old English names such as Ælfræd (Alfred) and Ælfwine (Alvin).[4][14] In Scots and northern English dialect the word formed many compounds, such as elf-arrow and elf-ring, a circle on old pasture thought to be used by elves.[16]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – ælf, in Beowulf.[2][9]
  • before 1200 – alve, in Layamon's Brut.[2]
  • c. 1390 – elf, plural elves, in Chaucer.[2][17]
  • 1530 – a small person or creature.[9]
  • 1533 – a mischievous or difficult person.[9]
  • 1568 – a child.[9]
  • 1850 – a Christmas elf, Santa Claus's helper.[9]
  • 1882 – a person busy with unseen work.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. In folklore and fantasy, a supernatural being in human form with magical powers, often small and given to mischief: The old tale says an elf mended the shoes overnight.[18][10][9]
  2. One of the small, pointed-eared helpers of Santa Claus in Christmas folklore.[9]
  3. A small person or creature, especially a lively or playful child.[18][10][9]
  4. A mischievous, sly or malicious person.[10][9]

Word family

  • elfish
  • elfishly
  • elflike
  • Elfland
  • elflock
  • elf owl
  • elfin
  • elvish
  • elven
  • oaf
  • eldritch

Usage notes

A separate word elf, a South African name for the bluefish, is borrowed from Afrikaans elf, from elft (“shad”) (1731).[9][5][10] The abbreviation ELF stands for extremely low frequency.[18][10][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  12. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  13. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  14. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  15. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  16. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  17. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  18. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins