elven
Syllables: elv·enUK/ˈɛlv(ə)n/
elven noun: originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
Noun (1)
elven (plural elvens)
- Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
- 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?1982, Terry Brooks, chapter 19, in The Elfstones of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 162
- "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.2007 April, Derric Euperio, “The Elven and the Troll”, in The Adventures of Ryushin: Two Hearts, Montgomery, Ala.: E-BookTime, →ISBN, page 122
Adjective
elven (comparative more elven, superlative most elven)
- Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike.
- 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...1937 September 21, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “The Gathering of the Clouds”, in The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published February 1966...
- 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...1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “The Shadow of the Past”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published...
Noun (2)
elven (plural elvens)
elven meaning in Arabic
elven in Arabic
- belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves — see also elfin, elflike
- آلْفِيّ ʔālfiyy
Examples of elven in a sentence
- 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,[…].2008, Elizabeth A. Whittingham, “Death and Immortality among Elves and Men”, in Donald E. Palumbo, C. W. Sullivan III, editors, The...
- 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.2010, Kathryne Kennedy, chapter 2, in The Fire Lord’s Lover, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, →ISBN, page 30:
- And now, this pitiless light, undiluted by elven love and judgment, burst through me like the arrows of the stars.1990 spring, Michael Rutherford, “Knight of Darkness, Knight of Light”, in John Betancourt, George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer...
- You know as a boy I was raised by the monks of Silban's Abbey, near the elven forest.1992, Raymond E[lias] Feist, “Apprentice”, in Magician (The Riftwar Saga; 1), revised edition, London: Voyager, HarperCollinsPublishers...
Synonyms of elven
Forms of elven
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | elvens |
| alternative form | elvin |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more elven |
| superlative | most elven |
Origin of elven
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”).
From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations.
Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).
Words formed from elven
Questions about elven
- What does elven mean?
- Elven means originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
- What is elven in Arabic?
- Elven in Arabic is آلْفِيّ (ʔālfiyy). See Elven meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use elven in a sentence?
- 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,[…].
- What part of speech is elven?
- Elven can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce elven?
- Elven is pronounced /ˈɛlv(ə)n/ (UK).
- What is the plural of elven?
- The plural of elven is elvens.
Words near elven in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: elven (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-elven.ogg.
Cite this entry: “elven.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elven. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.