elfishadj.
/ˈɛlfɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈɛlfɪʃ/ Pertaining to elves; weird, spectral; of the nature of an elf, resembling an elf; tricksy, mischievous; formerly also of inanimate things, unmanageable, intractable. See elvish adj.The older form elvish adj. is still the more usual; but in some connections elfish might be preferred on account of its more obvious relation to the primitive noun.
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the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [adjective]
elvishc1386
elfish1542
fairy1549
elfin1590
elfic1872
elven1937
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 296v The Cypres tree..is elfishe and frowarde to spryng vp.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 43 The goast of verye Creüsa..mad her elfish aparance.
a1791 Tom Line xv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1884) I. ii. 343/2 If my lord were an earthly knight, As he's an elfish grey.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere iv, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 24 The elfish light Fell off in hoary flakes.
a1802 Young Tamlane xxxii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1884) I. ii. 354/2 Then would I never tire..In Elfish land to dwell.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxviii. 372 Three men, Ootuniak, our elfish rogue Myouk, and a stranger.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. App. 770 The elfish names are mainly English.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1542- to the number of
- to the offward
- to the outmost
- to the outrance
- to the outside
- to the palaceward
- to the pith
- to the point
- to the point device
- to the point where
- to the power five
- to the power of five
- to the prejudice of
- to the prick
- to the proof
- to the punch
- to the purpose
- to the queen's taste
- to the quick
- to the rafters
- to the rate
- to the recover
- to the rescue
- to the respect of
- to the rest