Meanings
- pluralplural onlyhuman sciencesA type of elf of Scandinavian folklore.
"I tremble at the very thought of the Elle-people of whom our villagers tell, while thou hast not a single fear. Why is it, sister?"
1861, Dinah Craik, Romantic Tales, Leipzip: Berhard Tauchnitz, page 1641 more example
It is also necessary to watch cattle so that they may not graze in any place where the Elle-people have been. If any animal goes to a place where the Elle-people have spit or done what is worse, it is attacked by some grievous disease, which can only be cured by giving it a handful of St. John's wort, which was pulled at twelve o'clock on St. John's night.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 140Synonyms: elle-folk
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA type of elf of Scandinavian folklore.
Origin
- Danishellefolk
- Englishelle-people
Calque of Danish ellefolk.
More words from Danish
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
elle-people. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elle-people
“elle-people.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elle-people. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “elle-people,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elle-people.
Source: elle-people on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.