Etymology

elf

E1L1F4

Today it means: A supernatural being or spirit associated with illness, mischief, and harmful or dangerous magical influence; in later Norse sources, sometimes divided into benevolent light elves (inhabiting Álfheimr) and malevolent dark elves. Full definition →

Middle English elf ← Old English ielf ← Proto-West Germanic *albi
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elf · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*albʰós
  2. Proto-Germanic*albiz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*albi
  4. Old Englishielf
  5. Middle Englishelf
  6. English todayelf

From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Ultimately probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”). Doublet of alf, awf, and oaf. The modern fantasy literature sense was popularised by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

elf · noun2

Genericized trademark, from the Isuzu Elf family of trucks.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*albiz all →

elven

Proto-Indo-European*h₂elbʰós all →

Albany

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.