elfmaid

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From elf +‎ maid.

Pronunciation

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Noun

elfmaid (plural elfmaids)

  1. (fantasy) A female elf.
    • 1883 June 16, The Academy, London, page 416, column 1:
      On the other hand, the kobolds, brownies, and other household sprites who are not merely benign, but helpful, if well treated; the elf-maids who marry mortals, the swan-maidens, and the like, bear the stamp of Teutonic fancy.
    • 1894, Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen, Gunnar: A Tale of Norse Life, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 171:
      If Atle had believed in trolds and elf-maids, he should surely have supposed that Lars must have seen something of the kind on his night walk in the forest.
    • 1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, unnumbered page:
      She became known as 'the Fair' because of her beauty; many said that she looked more like an elf-maid than a hobbit.
    • 1985, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Dragons of Spring Dawning, unnumbered page:
      “Soth fell in love with a beautiful elfmaid, a disciple of the Kingpriest of Istar. []
    • 1997, Rosemary Edghill, The Empty Crown, page 663:
      There were two others riding with Ruth Marlowe and the nameless paladin: an elfmaid and her human servant.