Elf (ĕlf), n.; pl.
Elves (ĕlvz). [AS. ælf,
ylf; akin to MHG. alp, G. alp nightmare,
incubus, Icel. ālfr elf, Sw. alf, elfva;
cf. Skr. ṛbhu skillful, artful, rabh to grasp.
Cf. Auf, Oaf.] 1. An imaginary
supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a
mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild
places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous
tricks.
Every elf, and fairy sprite,
Hop as light as bird from brier.
Shak.
2. A very diminutive person; a
dwarf.
Elf arrow, a flint arrowhead; -- so called
by the English rural folk who often find these objects of prehistoric
make in the fields and formerly attributed them to fairies; -- called
also elf bolt, elf dart, and elf shot. --
Elf child, a child supposed to be left by
elves, in room of one they had stolen. See Changeling. --
Elf fire, the ignis fatuus. Brewer.
-- Elf owl (Zoöl.), a small owl
(Micrathene Whitneyi) of Southern California and
Arizona.
Elf, v. t. To entangle
mischievously, as an elf might do.
Elf all my hair in knots.
Shak.