GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Elf (ĕlf), n.; pl. Elves (ĕlvz). [AS. ælf, ylf; akin to MHG. alp, G. alp nightmare, incubus, Icel. ālfr elf, Sw. alf, elfva; cf. Skr. ṛbhu skillful, artful, rabh to grasp.  Cf. Auf, Oaf.]
   1. An imaginary supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous tricks.
   
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   Every elf, and fairy sprite,
   
   Hop as light as bird from brier. Shak.
   
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   2. A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
   
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   Elf arrow, a flint arrowhead; -- so called by the English rural folk who often find these objects of prehistoric make in the fields and formerly attributed them to fairies; -- called also elf bolt, elf dart, and elf shot. -- Elf child, a child supposed to be left by elves, in room of one they had stolen. See Changeling. -- Elf fire, the ignis fatuus. Brewer. -- Elf owl (Zoöl.), a small owl (Micrathene Whitneyi) of Southern California and Arizona.
   
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2.       
   Elf, v. t. To entangle mischievously, as an elf might do.
   
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   Elf all my hair in knots. Shak.
   
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