ELF

Elf

An elf is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Early elves, whose description depends almost entirely on Norse mythology texts, were a race of beings with magical skills, ambivalent towards humans and capable of either helping or hindering them. But Christianized societies were viewing elves in increasingly sinister light. In Anglo-Saxon England as early as the 10th century, Old English medical books attest to elves afflicting humans and livestock by "elf-shots". The German elf or alp was seen as an "addler" of people in medical books, but already in the High Middle Ages there were prayers warding against it ...

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Elf
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elf

Noun

  1. A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Alfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.
  2. Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. Usually skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.
  3. Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse alfar (through Tolkien's Eldar)
  4. A very diminutive person; a dwarf.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: elf
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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