"elven" meaning in English

See elven in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈɛlv(ə)n/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-us-elven.ogg [General-American] Forms: more elven [comparative], most elven [superlative]
Rhymes: -ɛlvən Etymology: From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations. Etymology templates: {{glossary|attributive}} attributive, {{inh|en|enm|elven|t=elf or fairy of either sex}} Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”), {{cog|en|elfin}} English elfin, {{glossary|suffix}} suffix, {{glossary|adjective}} adjective, {{suffix|en|elf|en|id2=resembling|pos2=suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives}} elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives) Head templates: {{en-adj}} elven (comparative more elven, superlative most elven)
  1. Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike. Synonyms: elfish, elvish, elvan Derived forms: half-elven Translations (belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike): آلْفِيّ (ʔālfiyy) (Arabic), elfí (Czech), elfa (Esperanto), elfique (French), elbisch (German), elbisch (Middle High German), alvisk (Norwegian), ielfisċ (Old English), elfi [masculine] (Polish), élfico (Portuguese), эльфи́йский (elʹfíjskij) [masculine] (Russian), élfico (Spanish), alvisk (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-elven-en-adj-usTx3nbU Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -en (resembling)
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

IPA: /ˈɛlv(ə)n/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-us-elven.ogg [General-American] Forms: elvens [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛlvən Etymology: PIE word *albʰós Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”). Etymology templates: {{l|ine-pro|*albʰós}} *albʰós, {{catlangname|en|terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *albʰós}}, {{PIE word|en|albʰós}} PIE word *albʰós, {{lbor|en|enm|elve}} Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, {{m|enm|elven|t=(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex}} elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”), {{nb...|ulve, ulven, (West Midlands) alve, alven|otherforms=1}} [and other forms], {{inh|en|ang|elfen}} Old English elfen, {{m|ang|ælfen}} ælfen, {{m|ang|ielfen|t=female elf}} ielfen (“female elf”), {{m|ang|elf}} elf, {{m|ang|ælf}} ælf, {{m|ang|ielf|t=elf}} ielf (“elf”), {{inh|en|gem-pro|*albiz|t=elf, fairy}} Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), {{inh|en|ine-pro|*albʰós|t=white}} Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”), {{glossary|suffix}} suffix, {{glossary|feminine}} feminine, {{glossary|noun}} noun, {{m|ang|-en|pos=suffix forming feminine nouns}} -en (suffix forming feminine nouns), {{cog|gmh|elbinne|t=fairy, nymph}} Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} elven (plural elvens)
  1. Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
    Sense id: en-elven-en-noun-CLMGrndK Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Noun

IPA: /ˈɛlv(ə)n/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-us-elven.ogg [General-American] Forms: elvens [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛlvən Etymology: Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”). Etymology templates: {{m|en|elmen|t=of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood}} elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} elven (plural elvens)
  1. (Kent, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire) An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra))). Tags: Kent Synonyms: elvin [Kent]
    Sense id: en-elven-en-noun-e7NssU3Z Categories (other): Kentish English, Sussex English, English adjectives ending in -en, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English adjectives ending in -en: 29 29 43 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 15 34 51
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 3

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for elven meaning in English (14.2kB)

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro",
        "2": "*albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "*albʰós",
      "name": "l"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "catlangname"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *albʰós",
      "name": "PIE word"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "elve"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Middle English elve",
      "name": "lbor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "elven",
        "t": "(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex"
      },
      "expansion": "elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ulve, ulven, (West Midlands) alve, alven",
        "otherforms": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[and other forms]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "elfen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English elfen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ælfen"
      },
      "expansion": "ælfen",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ielfen",
        "t": "female elf"
      },
      "expansion": "ielfen (“female elf”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "elf"
      },
      "expansion": "elf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ælf"
      },
      "expansion": "ælf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ielf",
        "t": "elf"
      },
      "expansion": "ielf (“elf”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*albiz",
        "t": "elf, fairy"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*albʰós",
        "t": "white"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "feminine"
      },
      "expansion": "feminine",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "noun",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "-en",
        "pos": "suffix forming feminine nouns"
      },
      "expansion": "-en (suffix forming feminine nouns)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "elbinne",
        "t": "fairy, nymph"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "PIE word\n *albʰós\nLearned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elvens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (plural elvens)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1982, Terry Brooks, chapter 19, in The Elfstones of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, page 162",
          "text": "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?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 April, Derric Euperio, “The Elven and the Troll”, in The Adventures of Ryushin: Two Hearts, Montgomery, Ala.: E-BookTime, page 122",
          "text": "\"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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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?\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Kathryne Kennedy, chapter 2, in The Fire Lord’s Lover, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 30",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf."
      ],
      "id": "en-elven-en-noun-CLMGrndK",
      "links": [
        [
          "female",
          "female#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "elf",
          "elf"
        ],
        [
          "fairy",
          "fairy"
        ],
        [
          "nymph",
          "nymph"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "attributive"
      },
      "expansion": "attributive",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "elven",
        "t": "elf or fairy of either sex"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elfin"
      },
      "expansion": "English elfin",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "adjective",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elf",
        "3": "en",
        "id2": "resembling",
        "pos2": "suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives"
      },
      "expansion": "elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more elven",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most elven",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (comparative more elven, superlative most elven)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -en (resembling)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "half-elven"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1977 April, Terry Brooks, chapter I, in The Sword of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published May 1978, pages 16–17",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "And now, this pitiless light, undiluted by elven love and judgment, burst through me like the arrows of the stars.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1992, Raymond E[lias] Feist, “Apprentice”, in Magician (The Riftwar Saga; 1), revised edition, London: Voyager, HarperCollinsPublishers, published 1997, page 21",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, David Goddard, “The Devas”, in The Sacred Magic of the Angels, Boston, Mass., York Beach, Me.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, pages 107–108",
          "text": "Not all of the elven folk are benign. There are dark elves, too, who do not wish humans well.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Kathryne Kennedy, The Lord of Illusion, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 375",
          "text": "The elven lords stood in a half circle, ominously still and silent. […] Despite their beautiful faces and perfect forms, she knew the elven were evil.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike."
      ],
      "id": "en-elven-en-adj-usTx3nbU",
      "links": [
        [
          "Belonging",
          "belong"
        ],
        [
          "relating",
          "relate"
        ],
        [
          "characteristic",
          "characteristic#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "elves",
          "elf"
        ],
        [
          "elfin",
          "elfin"
        ],
        [
          "elflike",
          "elflike"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "elfish"
        },
        {
          "word": "elvish"
        },
        {
          "word": "elvan"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ʔālfiyy",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "آلْفِيّ"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "elfí"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "elfa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "elfique"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "elbisch"
        },
        {
          "code": "gmh",
          "lang": "Middle High German",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "elbisch"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "alvisk"
        },
        {
          "code": "ang",
          "lang": "Old English",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "ielfisċ"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "elfi"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "élfico"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "elʹfíjskij",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "эльфи́йский"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "élfico"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
          "word": "alvisk"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "J. R. R. Tolkien",
    "The Hobbit",
    "The Lord of the Rings",
    "Vladimir Ivir"
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 3,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elmen",
        "t": "of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood"
      },
      "expansion": "elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elvens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (plural elvens)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Kentish English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Sussex English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 29 43",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English adjectives ending in -en",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 34 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra)))."
      ],
      "id": "en-elven-en-noun-e7NssU3Z",
      "links": [
        [
          "elm",
          "elm"
        ],
        [
          "tree",
          "tree#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "genus",
          "genus"
        ],
        [
          "Ulmus",
          "Ulmus#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "wych elm",
          "wych elm"
        ],
        [
          "Scots elm",
          "Scots elm"
        ],
        [
          "Ulmus glabra",
          "Ulmus glabra#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire; Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Kent, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire) An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra)))."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "Kent"
          ],
          "word": "elvin"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Kent"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English adjectives ending in -en",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English learned borrowings from Middle English",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *albʰós",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro",
        "2": "*albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "*albʰós",
      "name": "l"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "catlangname"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "albʰós"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *albʰós",
      "name": "PIE word"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "elve"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Middle English elve",
      "name": "lbor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "elven",
        "t": "(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex"
      },
      "expansion": "elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ulve, ulven, (West Midlands) alve, alven",
        "otherforms": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[and other forms]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "elfen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English elfen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ælfen"
      },
      "expansion": "ælfen",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ielfen",
        "t": "female elf"
      },
      "expansion": "ielfen (“female elf”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "elf"
      },
      "expansion": "elf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ælf"
      },
      "expansion": "ælf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ielf",
        "t": "elf"
      },
      "expansion": "ielf (“elf”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*albiz",
        "t": "elf, fairy"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*albʰós",
        "t": "white"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "feminine"
      },
      "expansion": "feminine",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "noun",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "-en",
        "pos": "suffix forming feminine nouns"
      },
      "expansion": "-en (suffix forming feminine nouns)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "elbinne",
        "t": "fairy, nymph"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "PIE word\n *albʰós\nLearned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elvens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (plural elvens)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1982, Terry Brooks, chapter 19, in The Elfstones of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, page 162",
          "text": "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?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 April, Derric Euperio, “The Elven and the Troll”, in The Adventures of Ryushin: Two Hearts, Montgomery, Ala.: E-BookTime, page 122",
          "text": "\"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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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?\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Kathryne Kennedy, chapter 2, in The Fire Lord’s Lover, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 30",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "female",
          "female#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "elf",
          "elf"
        ],
        [
          "fairy",
          "fairy"
        ],
        [
          "nymph",
          "nymph"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English adjectives",
    "English adjectives ending in -en",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms suffixed with -en (resembling)",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən/2 syllables"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "half-elven"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "attributive"
      },
      "expansion": "attributive",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "elven",
        "t": "elf or fairy of either sex"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elfin"
      },
      "expansion": "English elfin",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "adjective",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elf",
        "3": "en",
        "id2": "resembling",
        "pos2": "suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives"
      },
      "expansion": "elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more elven",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most elven",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (comparative more elven, superlative most elven)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1977 April, Terry Brooks, chapter I, in The Sword of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published May 1978, pages 16–17",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "And now, this pitiless light, undiluted by elven love and judgment, burst through me like the arrows of the stars.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1992, Raymond E[lias] Feist, “Apprentice”, in Magician (The Riftwar Saga; 1), revised edition, London: Voyager, HarperCollinsPublishers, published 1997, page 21",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, David Goddard, “The Devas”, in The Sacred Magic of the Angels, Boston, Mass., York Beach, Me.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, pages 107–108",
          "text": "Not all of the elven folk are benign. There are dark elves, too, who do not wish humans well.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Kathryne Kennedy, The Lord of Illusion, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 375",
          "text": "The elven lords stood in a half circle, ominously still and silent. […] Despite their beautiful faces and perfect forms, she knew the elven were evil.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Belonging",
          "belong"
        ],
        [
          "relating",
          "relate"
        ],
        [
          "characteristic",
          "characteristic#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "elves",
          "elf"
        ],
        [
          "elfin",
          "elfin"
        ],
        [
          "elflike",
          "elflike"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "elfish"
        },
        {
          "word": "elvish"
        },
        {
          "word": "elvan"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ʔālfiyy",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "آلْفِيّ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "elfí"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "elfa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "elfique"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "elbisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "gmh",
      "lang": "Middle High German",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "elbisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "alvisk"
    },
    {
      "code": "ang",
      "lang": "Old English",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "ielfisċ"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "elfi"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "élfico"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "elʹfíjskij",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "эльфи́йский"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "élfico"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike",
      "word": "alvisk"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "J. R. R. Tolkien",
    "The Hobbit",
    "The Lord of the Rings",
    "Vladimir Ivir"
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English adjectives ending in -en",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlvən/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 3,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elmen",
        "t": "of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood"
      },
      "expansion": "elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elvens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "elven (plural elvens)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "elv‧en"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Kentish English",
        "Sussex English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra)))."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "elm",
          "elm"
        ],
        [
          "tree",
          "tree#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "genus",
          "genus"
        ],
        [
          "Ulmus",
          "Ulmus#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "wych elm",
          "wych elm"
        ],
        [
          "Scots elm",
          "Scots elm"
        ],
        [
          "Ulmus glabra",
          "Ulmus glabra#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire; Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Kent, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire) An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra)))."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Kent"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɛlv(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlvən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-elven.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg/En-us-elven.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-elven.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Kent"
      ],
      "word": "elvin"
    }
  ],
  "word": "elven"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.