elven
/ˈɛlv(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.63 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
noun
An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra))).
Example Sentences
- "When you told Amberle that we must come here tonight, she reminded you that you had informed the Elvens at the High Council that she would be given a day or two to rest. You answered her by saying that what you told them was a necessary deception. What did you mean by that?"
- ""In order for the elvens to stay in hiding, they live under the great vines rather above them," Aida answered. […] An elven walked over to Rhyona and nodded to her, then entered the thick wood alone."
- "The first reference to a choice being granted the Half-elvens is in the "Sketch," but it only applies to Elrond and is not exactly the same choice as in the Quenta Silmarillion,[…]. The Quenta Silmarillion, however, formalizes this matter of the Half-elvens having to choose. The text describes a debate among the Valar in which Mandos asserts, "[Eärendel] shall surely die…" but since he is both Elf and Man, Ulmo asks, "which half shall die?""
- "Although Cass vaguely remembered her trials, she knew her father had been disappointed when she hadn’t possessed enough magic to be sent to the elvens’ home world, the fabled Elfhame."
- "The rocks echoed then with voices and with song, as they had not done for many a day. There was the sound, too, of elven-harps and of sweet music; and as it echoed up towards them it seemed that the chill of the air was warmed, and they caught faintly the fragrance of woodland flowers blossoming in spring."
- "Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, / Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, / Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, / One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. / One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, / One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
Etymology
PIE word *albʰós Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɛlv(ə)n/
- British English: /ˈɛlv(ə)n/