Elf

An elf is a mythical creature of Germanic mythology which survived in northern European folklore. Originally a race of minor gods of nature and fertility, elves are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and magical powers have been attributed to them. Following the success of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings?wherein a wise, angelic people named elves play a significant role?they have become staple characters of modern fantasy.

Related Topics:
Mythical creature - Germanic mythology - Europe - Folklore - Gods - Forest - Immortal - Magical - J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings - Staple characters - Fantasy

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Elf can be pluralized both as elves and elfs. Something associated with elves or the qualities of elves is described by the adjectives elfin, elven, elfish, or elvish. They are also called:

Related Topics:
Plural - Adjective

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• Germany: Elfen, Elben and Alben
• Great Britain: addler
• Iceland: álfar, álfafólk and huldufólk
• Scandinavia: elvere or ellefolk in Denmark, alver or elvefolk in Norway, and alfer, alver or älvor in Sweden

Although there has been debate, the words elf, álf and their relatives almost certainly come from the same Indo-European root *albh as the Latin albus (white).{{mn|Hall 2004|H-1}}

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Elf: Characteristics of traditional elves ►