Wiktionary

alf

See also: Alf, ALF, älf, and 'alf

English

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Etymology

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From Danish and Swedish alf, from Old Norse alfr; see also Dutch alf. Doublet of elf and oaf.

Noun

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alf (plural alfs)

  1. (Norse mythology) A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.
    • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 248:
      As the Scandinavians were at that time still worshippers of Thor and Odin, the belief in Alfs and Dwarfs accompanied them to their new abodes, and there, as elsewhere, survived the introduction of Christianity.
    • 2023, Kveldulf Gundarsson, Elves, Wights & Trolls, The Three Little Sisters, page 83:
      [T]he charm suggests rather that the Ases had sunk to a level where they could be counted together with witches and lesser wights, than that the alfs were seen as godly beings at the time the charm was composed.

Anagrams

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Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology

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From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

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alf c (singular definite alfen, plural indefinite alfer)

  1. fairy
  2. elf

Declension

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Declension of alf
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative alf alfen alfer alferne
genitive alfs alfens alfers alfernes

Derived terms

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References

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Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch alf, from Old Dutch *alf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós. Doublet with Dutch elf (“elf”), a modern borrowing from English.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɑlf/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: alf
  • Rhymes: -ɑlf

Noun

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alf m (plural alven, diminutive alfje n, feminine alve)

  1. a type of folkloristic humanoid or spirit; an elf

Synonyms

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  • (mythical being): elf

Derived terms

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Middle Dutch

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Etymology

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From Old Dutch *alf, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

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alf m

  1. elf, evil spirit

Inflection

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This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

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  • Dutch: alf

Further reading

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  • “alf”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “alf”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Old Norse

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Noun

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alf

  1. accusative singular of alfr

Old Saxon

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

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alf m

  1. elf

Declension

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Declension of alf (masculine a-stem)
singular plural
nominative alf alvos
accusative alf alvos
genitive alves alvō
dative alve alvum
instrumental — —


Plautdietsch

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Numeral

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alf

  1. eleven

Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz.

Noun

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alf c

  1. Alternative spelling of alv (“elf”)

Usage notes

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  • The word alf (alfven, alfver) turned into alv (alven, alver) in the 1906 spelling reform. Somehow, the old form also lives on, but now with different inflected forms.

Declension

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Declension of alf
nominative genitive
singular indefinite alf alfs
definite alfen alfens
plural indefinite alfer alfers
definite alferna alfernas

Obsolete:

Declension of alf
nominative genitive
singular indefinite alf alfs
definite alfven alfvens
plural indefinite alfver alfvers
definite alfverna alfvernas

Anagrams

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Vilamovian

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Vilamovian cardinal numbers
 <  10 11 12  > 
    Cardinal : alf
    Ordinal : alfty

Pronunciation

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Numeral

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ȧlf

  1. eleven

West Frisian

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Numeral

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alf

  1. Alternative form of alve
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