elven

plural elvens

1. Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.First known use before 12th – 14th c.; revived 20th c.

   Although Cass vaguely remembered her trials, she knew her father had been disappointed when she hadn’t possessed enough magic to be sent to the elvens’ home world, the fabled Elfhame.

   2010, Kathryne Kennedy, chapter 2, in The Fire Lord’s Lover, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, →ISBN, page 30

   3 more examples

   When you told Amberle that we must come here tonight, she reminded you that you had informed the Elvens at the High Council that she would be given a day or two to rest. You answered her by saying that what you told them was a necessary deception. What did you mean by that?

   1982, Terry Brooks, chapter 19, in The Elfstones of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 162

   "In order for the elvens to stay in hiding, they live under the great vines rather above them," Aida answered. […] An elven walked over to Rhyona and nodded to her, then entered the thick wood alone.

   2007 April, Derric Euperio, “The Elven and the Troll”, in The Adventures of Ryushin: Two Hearts, Montgomery, Ala.: E-BookTime, →ISBN, page 122

   The first reference to a choice being granted the Half-elvens is in the "Sketch," but it only applies to Elrond and is not exactly the same choice as in the Quenta Silmarillion,[…]. The Quenta Silmarillion, however, formalizes this matter of the Half-elvens having to choose. The text describes a debate among the Valar in which Mandos asserts, "[Eärendel] shall surely die…" but since he is both Elf and Man, Ulmo asks, "which half shall die?"

   2008, Elizabeth A. Whittingham, “Death and Immortality among Elves and Men”, in Donald E. Palumbo, C. W. Sullivan III, editors, The Evolution of Tolkien’s Mythology: A Study of The History of Middle-earth (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy; 7), Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN

comparative more elven · superlative most elven

1. Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike.First known use mid 20th c.

   Not all of the elven folk are benign. There are dark elves, too, who do not wish humans well.

   1996, David Goddard, “The Devas”, in The Sacred Magic of the Angels, Boston, Mass.; York Beach, Me.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, pages 107–108

   5 more examples

   The rocks echoed then with voices and with song, as they had not done for many a day. There was the sound, too, of elven-harps and of sweet music; and as it echoed up towards them it seemed that the chill of the air was warmed, and they caught faintly the fragrance of woodland flowers blossoming in spring.

   1937 September 21, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “The Gathering of the Clouds”, in The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published February 1966 (August 1967 printing), →OCLC, page 248

   Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, / Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, / Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, / One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. / One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, / One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

   1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “The Shadow of the Past”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published September 1973, →ISBN, page 81

   He noted the telltale Elven features immediately—the hint of slightly pointed ears beneath the tousled blond hair, the pencil-like eyebrows that ran straight up at a sharp angle from the bridge of the nose rather than across the brow, and the slimness of the nose and jaw.

   1977 April, Terry Brooks, chapter I, in The Sword of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published May 1978, →ISBN, pages 16–17

   And now, this pitiless light, undiluted by elven love and judgment, burst through me like the arrows of the stars.

   1990 spring, Michael Rutherford, “Knight of Darkness, Knight of Light”, in John Betancourt, George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, editors, Weird Tales: The Unique Magazine, volume 51, number 3 (number 296 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Terminus Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 127, column 1

   You know as a boy I was raised by the monks of Silban's Abbey, near the elven forest. I played with elven children, and before I came here, I hunted with Prince Calin and his cousin, Galain.

   1992, Raymond E[lias] Feist, “Apprentice”, in Magician (The Riftwar Saga; 1), revised edition, London: Voyager, HarperCollinsPublishers, published 1997, →ISBN, page 21

   Synonyms: elfish, elvish, elvan

plural elvens · alternative elvin

1. KentSussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire; Sussex; Warwickshire; WorcestershireAn elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra))).