1 September 2018

elfin

[el-fin]

adjective

1. of or like an elf.
2. small and charmingly spritely, merry, or mischievous.
noun
3. an elf.

Origin of elfin

Middle English, Old English
1560-1570; alteration of Middle English elven elf, Old English elfen, ælfen nymph, equivalent to ælf elf + -en feminine suffix (cognate with German -in); ælf cognate with German Alp nightmare, puck, Old Norse alfr elf

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for elfin

Contemporary Examples

Mickey Rooney, the elfin actor who could pull out all the stops on stage and on film, died Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 93.
Mickey Rooney Was Hollywood’s Golden Age Showman
Lorenza Muñoz
April 7, 2014

Before these famous cartoons went viral, Santa was depicted either as a tall, thin, and less than jolly fellow or an elfin man.
8 Facts You Never Knew About Christmas
Brandy Zadrozny
December 24, 2013

Historical Examples

She forgot that her boy was of elfin as well as of mortal race.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 3, August, 1850.
Various

Today’s quote

Fascism is cured by reading, and racism is cured by traveling.

– Miguel de Unamuno

On this day

1 September 1875 – birth of Edgar Rice Burroughs, American science fiction author: Tarzan, Mars series (on which the 2012 movie ‘John Carter‘ was based). Died 19 March 1950.

1 September 1939 – official commencement date of World War II, when Germany invaded Poland.