alf

plural alfs · plural alfar

1. Norsehuman sciencesA supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.

   As the Scandinavians were at that time still worshippers of Thor and Odin, the belief in Alfs and Dwarfs accompanied them to their new abodes, and there, as elsewhere, survived the introduction of Christianity.

   1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 248

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   [T]he charm suggests rather that the Ases had sunk to a level where they could be counted together with witches and lesser wights, than that the alfs were seen as godly beings at the time the charm was composed.

   2023, Kveldulf Gundarsson, Elves, Wights & Trolls, The Three Little Sisters, page 83

1. A diminutive of the male given names Alfred and Alfonso, from the Germanic languages.

plural Alfs

1. AustraliaderogatoryslangAn uncultured Australian.

   Martin Sharp once described Sydney's western suburbs to me hazily as 'where the Alfs live'.

   1973, Australia. Parliament. Senate. Standing Committee on Education, Science and the Arts, Reference, Broadcasting and Television: Official Hansard Report (page 1076)

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   Oz savaged suburbia as a wasteland of consumerism and conformity, peopled with 'Alfs' […]

   2009, Michelle Arrow, Friday on Our Minds: Popular Culture in Australia Since 1945, page 96

   Coote ended his piece with the claim that “[t]he Australian Alfs are beyond redemption”, and as such only small groups of militant aligned students and workers posed a real challenge to the system.

   2016, Jon Piccini, Transnational Protest, Australia and the 1960s, page 74

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Animal Liberation Front (name used by animal rights activists engaging in direct action).
2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of automatic letter facing: mechanical postal system introduced in the UK in 1957 to align the stamps to the correct position for the franking machine.
3. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of assisted living facility.