elven

elven · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*albʰós“white”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*albiz“elf, fairy”
3. Old English · inherited fromelfen
4. Middle English · learned borrowing fromelve
5. English todayelven

PIE word *albʰós Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).

elven · adjective²

1. Middle English · inherited fromelven“elf or fairy of either sex”
2. English todayelven

From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations.

elven · noun³

Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• before 12th – 14th c.; revived 20th c. Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
• from mid 20th c. Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike.