Then there are those nouns that end in –fe: wife and knife become wives and knives. The voiceless \f\ sound that ends these words became a voiced \v\ simply by habit of speech when the word in question was pluralized. And of course, Santa Claus relies on a workforce of these tiny individuals to make the toys he delivers to children every December. — The Edmond Sun (Oklahoma), 14 Dec. 2018. Elves have been part of Germanic folklore since medieval times, where they were usually depicted as having a similar appearance to humans. elf m (plural elfen, diminutive elfje n, feminine elve or elfin). In Germanic folklore, the term elf referred to any of a variety of creatures, usually of small stature, not necessarily out to cause harm but always mischievous. Ultimately probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”). Same with briefs, beliefs, roofs, and reliefs, as well as just about all words ending in double-f: tariffs, bailiffs, sheriffs, cliffs, mastiffs, bluffs, cuffs, earmuffs. While both dwarfs and dwarves have demonstrated historical use for the noun (which, like elf, derives from Old English), the preference for dwarfs was perhaps encouraged by the title of Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Download Grammarly's app to help with eliminating grammar errors and finding the right words. 'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'? — The Portland Press Herald, 9 Dec. 2019, Based on the classic by J.R.R. The appearance of elves in Christmas narratives became prominent in the United States in the 19th century. The Plural of Elf The plural of elf is elves. ), 10 May 2019, Santa will fly in with two of his elfs, and Santa’s chair will be propped up so children can see Santa. Elves is the plural form of the noun elf, which refers to a fantasy creature. From Old English elf, Anglian form of ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós (“white”). They often had supernatural powers, and … Compare German elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve. Set your young readers up for lifelong success, 'Malarkey!' It’s personal growth that makes all the difference, according to the highly entertaining production of “Elf – The Musical” now running at the Lyric Music Theater in South Portland. As plurals of elf, both elfs and elves have long histories in English, and there is plenty of precedent for both, but elves has always been the more common form by far, and it remains so to this day. malarkey From Low German, from Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan. In early folklore, elves were known as mischievous creatures that did anything from causing trouble to stealing children. The appearance of elves in Christmas narratives became prominent in the United States in the 19th century. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'. From Middle English elf, from Old English ælf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Displaced native alf, from the same Germanic source. That might have been due partly to popular perception of elves as distinctly belonging to past times, leading to a scarcity of the word’s occurrence in then-contemporary prose. Check out words from the year you were born and more! Borrowed from German Elf, itself borrowed from English elf, from Old English ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. Learn a new word every day. This follows the common method of pluralizing nouns in English ending in an –f … We speak of the leaves on the trees, a den of thieves, two halves making a whole. Do you disagree with something on this page. Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” describes the visitor as “a right jolly old elf.” In 1850, Louisa May Alcott completed a manuscript entitled Christmas Elves, but it was never published. Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Norse mythology: luminous spirit dwelling in Álfheim, fantasy: magical, typically forest-guarding creature, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=elf&oldid=60906901, English terms inherited from Middle English, English terms derived from Middle English, English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic, English terms derived from Proto-Germanic, English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European, English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European, Afrikaans terms inherited from Middle Dutch, Afrikaans terms derived from Middle Dutch, Afrikaans terms inherited from Proto-Germanic, Afrikaans terms derived from Proto-Germanic, Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic, Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic, Dutch Low Saxon terms inherited from Low German, Dutch Low Saxon terms derived from Low German, Dutch Low Saxon terms inherited from Middle Low German, Dutch Low Saxon terms derived from Middle Low German, Dutch Low Saxon terms inherited from Old Saxon, Dutch Low Saxon terms derived from Old Saxon, German terms inherited from Middle High German, German terms derived from Middle High German, German terms inherited from Old High German, German terms derived from Old High German, German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic, German Low German terms inherited from Middle Low German, German Low German terms derived from Middle Low German, German Low German terms inherited from Old Saxon, German Low German terms derived from Old Saxon, Middle English terms inherited from Old English, Middle English terms derived from Old English, Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic, Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic, Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic, Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic, Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European, Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European, Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation, Pennsylvania German terms with IPA pronunciation, Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Rhine Franconian, Pennsylvania German terms derived from Rhine Franconian, Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Old High German, Pennsylvania German terms derived from Old High German, Requests for pronunciation in Maltese entries, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This entry needs pronunciation information. /ɛlvz/. When names become words and then we ask you about... Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? From Dutch elf, from Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif. The plural of elf is elves. The preferred plural of elf is elves, following the grammar of shelf and shelves or wolf and wolves. . Since these creatures usually work as a team (a necessity, given how relatively tiny they are), it’s important to know how to render the plural for their species. Modern use of the word elf almost always shows up in the plural as elves, with the spelling elfs turning up on infrequent occasions: Size doesn’t matter much in the world of elves. elf (third-person singular simple present elfs, present participle elfing, simple past and past participle elfed). A question surrounding a hard-working plural. A noun comparable to elf that went its own route when it came to establishing a plural is dwarf. fracking Related to German elf. Delivered to your inbox! The second edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1777–84) calls the word elf “obsolete” but reports that belief in such creatures “still subsists in many parts of our own country. But the popular fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien preferred the plural form dwarves in his works, possibly as a deliberate echo of elves: As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the elves are almost as small as insects. Although elfs may occasionally be found in print the accepted modern plural form of elf is elves. Presidential debate about migration. Elf derives from Old English. In early folklore, elves were known as mischievous creatures that … From Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan. Spelling, in this case, is determined by phonetics. Compare German elf, Dutch elf, English eleven. Straight talking and methodical, "Smashing Grammar" (Our Grammar Book, 2019), some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change, A world in which elves exist and magic works offers greater opportunities to digress and explore. Biden's favorite word? noun, plural elves [elvz]. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 1937, In a foreword to The Hobbit, Tolkien acknowledged that dwarfs was the “only correct plural” of dwarf, but that he had opted for dwarves “only when speaking of the ancient people to whom Thorin Oakenshield and his companions belonged.”. From Rhine Franconian, from Old High German einlif. a diminutive person, especially a child. Charter School students … there will be singing dwarves, dancing hobbits, and elves, along with other characters—Gollum, trolls, goblins, and even a dragon. A world in which elves exist and magic works offers greater opportunities to digress and explore. Both candidates will continue fracking, coyote Chief, despite ending in the same three letters as thief, gets pluralized as chiefs. Compare angel, nymph, fairy. elf (Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). By then, use of elves as the preferred plural for the creature was well established in English, following the example set by many other nouns that end in an –f that converts to a v when the noun in pluralized: shelf becomes shelves; scarf (usually) becomes scarves; wolf and calf becomes wolves and calves. What is the plural of elf? Serf, for example, gets pluralized with a standard –s: serfs.

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