different between elf vs gnome

English

Alternative forms

• elve (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Ultimately probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *h?elb?ós (“white”). Doublet of oaf.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?lf, IPA^(key): /?lf/
• Rhymes: -?lf

Noun

elf (plural elves)

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

Synonyms

• (supernatural creature): See goblin (hostile); fairy (small, mischievous)

Hyponyms

• elfe
• elven
• wood elf, wood-elf

Derived terms

Related terms

• elfin, elven, elvan
• elvish

Descendants

• ? Dutch: elf
• ? German: Elf, Elfe
• ? Japanese: ??? (erufu)
• ? Korean: ?? (elpeu)

Translations

Verb

elf (third-person singular simple present elfs, present participle elfing, simple past and past participle elfed)

1. (now rare) To twist into elflocks (of hair); to mat.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear

     My face I'll grime with filth, blanket my loins, elf all my hairs in knots, and with presented nakedness outface the winds and persecutions of the sky.

See also

• dark elf & light elf
• fairy
• brownie
• dwarf
• hobbit
• Eldar

References

• Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races Series, Volume 2 Eddic, Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220-221.

Anagrams

• EFL

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch elf, from Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Catalan

Noun

elf m (plural elfs)

1. elf

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [??lf]

Noun

elf m

1. elf

Declension

Derived terms

• elfí

Further reading

• elf in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• elf in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l(?)f/
• Hyphenation: elf
• Rhymes: -?lf

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ellef, elf, from Old Dutch *ellef, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *-lif. Compare German elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Noun

elf f (plural elven, diminutive elfje n)

1. The number eleven, or a representation thereof.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: elf

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Elf, itself borrowed from English elf, from Old English ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz. Displaced native alf, from the same Germanic source.

Noun

elf m (plural elfen or elven, diminutive elfje n, feminine elve or elfin)

1. elf, brownie (small folkloric creature)
2. (fantasy) elf (humanoid pointy-eared creature in fantasy)

Synonyms

• (mythical being): alf

Derived terms

• boself
• elfenbank
• elfin
• kerstelf
• woudelf

Anagrams

• fel
• lef

Dutch Low Saxon

Etymology

From Low German, from Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan. Related to German elf.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven (11)

German

Alternative forms

• eilf, eilff, eylff (dated/obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German einlif, eilef, elf, from Old High German einlif, from Proto-Germanic *ainalif, a compound of *ainaz and *-lif. Compare Dutch elf, West Frisian alve, English eleven, Danish elleve.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lf/

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

• Elf
• elffach
• Elfeck
• elfeckig
• elfstellig
• elfstündig

Further reading

• “elf” in Duden online

German Low German

Alternative forms

• eleve, ölve, ölven

Etymology

From Middle Low German elvene, from Old Saxon ellevan.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic ?????? (?alf).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/

Numeral

elf m or f (dual elfejn, plural eluf or elufijiet, paucal elef)

1. thousand

Middle English

Alternative forms

• elfe, helfe

Etymology

From Old English elf, Anglian form of ælf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h?elb?ós (“white”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/

Noun

elf (plural elves)

1. elf, fairy
2. spirit, shade

Related terms

• elven
• elvyssh

Descendants

• English: elf (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: elf
• Yola: elf

References

• “elf, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-12.

Pennsylvania German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lf/

Etymology

From Rhine Franconian, from Old High German einlif. Compare German elf, Dutch elf, English eleven.

Numeral

elf

1. eleven

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lf/

Noun

elf m anim

1. elf, mythical or fantasy creature

Declension

Usage notes

The plural for the Tolkien creatures is usually elfowie.

Romanian

Etymology

From French elfe.

Noun

elf m (plural elfi)

1. elf

Declension

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English elf, from Old English ielf, from Proto-West Germanic *albi.

Noun

elf (plural elvès)

1. fairy

References

• Jacob Poole (1867) , William Barnes, editor, A glossary, with some pieces of verse, of the old dialect of the English colony in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, J. Russell Smith, ?ISBN

English

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek ????? (gn?m?, “thought, opinion”), from the base of ?????????? (gign?skein, “to know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??m/, IPA^(key): /n??mi/

Noun

gnome (plural gnomai or gnomes)

2. A brief reflection or maxim; a pithy saying.

   Synonyms: adage, apothegm, maxim, paroemia, proverb, sententia

   • 1996, Giambattista Vico, Giorgio A. Pinton, Arthur W. Shippee (translators), The Art of Rhetoric, [1711-1741, Giambattista Vico, Institutiones Oratoriae], page 125,

     The Greeks in their tongue call this second type of maxim noema. The gnome is more appropriate to the philosophers, and the noema to the orators, to the poets, and to the historians. To speak by gnomes alone was referred to by the Greeks as "philosophizing" which we Italians would render as "to mouth maxims" (sputar sentenze).

   • 2003, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Tragedy and Athenian Religion, page 386,

     Thus, the gnome concerning the precarious nature of, and the potential suffering in, human life sent by the gods uttered by Electra is deconstructed by her choice of paradigm. By using Tantalos as an illustration, the play overturns the apparent meaning of the gnome.

Related terms

• gnomic

Etymology 2

From French gnome (“gnome”), from New Latin gnomus, used by Paracelsus as a synonym for pygmaeus (“pygmy”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: n?m, IPA^(key): /n??m/
• (General American) enPR: n?m, IPA^(key): /no?m/
• Rhymes: -??m
• Homophones: Nome, nome

Noun

gnome (plural gnomes)

1. (magic, alchemy, Rosicrucianism) An elemental (spirit or corporeal creature associated with a classical element) associated with earth.
   • 1811, The Medical and Physical Journal, Volume 25, page 138,

     He adopts the Rosycrusian fancy of Gnomes, spirits which inhabit the earth, and who by their power form the ores of metals, and all the wonders met with in the inmost recesses of the globe.

   • 2006, Greg Lynch, RuneQuest Monsters, page 52,

     Gnomes are perhaps the most useful of the elementals.

     A gnome can carry a person with it as it swims through the soil, provided it is strong enough to lift the person. The gnome cannot, however, provide air for that person […] .

   • 2007, Christopher Penczak, Ascension Magick: Ritual, Myth and Healing for the New Aeon, page 413,

     Elementals are the consciousness guiding the four classical elements of earth, fire, air, and water. These elementals are depicted as gnomes, salamanders, diminutive faeries known as sylphs, and merfolk, known as undines, respectively.

2. (mythology, fantasy literature) One of a race of imaginary human-like beings, usually depicted as short and typically bearded males, who inhabit the inner parts of the earth and act as guardians of mines, mineral treasure, etc.; in modern fantasy literature, when distinguished from dwarves, gnomes are usually even smaller than dwarves and more focussed on engineering than mining.
   • 2011, Ross Lawhead, The Realms Thereunder, page 251,

     There were not one but four gnomes standing at his feet. “I nearly trod on you,” Daniel said. “What are you doing here?”

     The gnomes just stood, looking up at him.

3. A dwarf; a goblin; a person of small stature or misshapen features, or of strange appearance.
4. The northern pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma, a small owl of the western United States.
5. A small statue of a dwarf-like character, often bearded, placed in a garden.
   • 2011, Bronwen Forbes, The Small-Town Pagan's Survival Guide, page 72,

     My mother-in-law, who swears she is a good Lutheran but is also the most powerful Witch I have ever met, also has at least a dozen small lawn gnomes peeking out from beside her shrubs, next to the lilac bushes, and hanging out with the roses. My husband has already started our collection; as of this writing, four gnomes and one moss-covered rabbit hang out in the shrubbery by the front door, two gnomes live in the dining room, and one guards the perpetual pile of to-do paperwork that lives next to the computer.

6. (astronomy, meteorology) An upper atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a compact blue starter.
7. (often derogatory) A banker, especially a secretive international one.
   • 1973, Texas Monthly, page 110

     So far the major beneficiaries of the boom in gold have been deposed South American dictators, Middle Eastern potentates, and the gnomes of Zurich.

   • 1985, Fodor's, Fodor's ... London, Fodor's

     For this is a creation of the City, of the country's financial heart, and of the gnomes of London who have financed it and supported it entirely on their own.

   • 2002, Mary Buffett, David Clark, The New Buffettology: The Proven Techniques for Investing Successfully in Changing Markets That Have Made Warren Buffett the World's Most Famous Investor, Simon and Schuster ?ISBN, page 194

     The gnomes of Wall Street can trade on rumors, but Warren will only invest after the sale or merger has been announced.

Derived terms

• garden gnome
• gnomefish (Scombropidae)
• gnomess (females)

Related terms

Translations

See also

• kobold
• salamander (elemental of fire)
• sylph (elemental of air)
• undine (elemental of water)

References

• gnome in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• gnome in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• gnome at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Monge, emong

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?nom/

Noun

gnome m (plural gnomes)

1. gnome

Descendants

• ? Danish: gnom
• ? English: gnome
• ? Norwegian Bokmål: gnom
• ? Norwegian Nynorsk: gnom

Further reading

• “gnome” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Noun

gnome f

1. plural of gnoma