Where does “elves” come from?
Elves comes from Old English ælf, which derived from Proto-Indo-European albʰós, a root of uncertain meaning whose sense development to supernatural beings remains unclear.
elves (English): plural of elf; plural of elve
Definitions
- plural of elf; plural of elve
Ancestry of “elves”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | elve | an upper atmospheric optical phenomenon... |
| 2 | English | elf | A luminous spirit presiding over nature and... |
| 3 | Middle English | elf | elf, fairy; spirit, shade |
| 4 | Old English | ielf | elf |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | albi | elf, fairy |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | albī | river |
| 7 | Latin | Albis | — |
| 8 | Latin | Albeus | — |