User:Colincbn/Elves

Etymology and Germanic origins
The English word elf is from the Old English ælf or elf, themselves from the Proto-Germanic *albiz which also spawned the Old Norse álfr, Middle High German elbe. *Albiz may be from the Proto-Indo-European root *albh- meaning "white", from which also stems the Latin albus "white". Alternatively, a connection to the Rbhus, semi-divine craftsmen in Indian mythology, has also been suggested(OED). Originally ælf/elf and its plural ælfe were the masculine forms, while the corresponding feminine form (first found in eighth century glosses) was ælfen or elfen (with a possible feminine plural -ælfa, found in dunælfa) which became the Middle English elven, using the feminine suffix -en from the earlier -inn which derives from the Proto-Germanic *-innja). The fact that cognates exist (such as the German elbinne) could suggest a West Germanic *alb(i)innjo, however other research disagrees with this view, and argues that the examples are simply a transference to the weak declension common in in Southern and Western forms of Middle English. The Middle English forms with this weak declension were aluen(e) and eluen(e). Thus suggesting that the potential cognates of ælfen may be independent formations, -injo being used throughout the history of Mainland European West Germanic. By the earlier eleventh century ælf could denote a female.

The corresponding terms in Germanic languages other than English are:
 * North Germanic
 * Old Norse: álfr, plural álfar.
 * Icelandic: álfar, álfafólk and huldufólk (hidden people).
 * Danish: Elver, elverfolk sometimes ellefolk or alfer (note alfer today translates to fairies)..
 * Norwegian: alv, alven, alver, alvene and alvefolket (which translates as "the elf-folk")
 * Swedish: alv/alf, alver/alfer or älvor (feminine form).
 * Continental West Germanic
 * Dutch: elf, elfen, elven, alven (Middle Dutch alf)
 * German: from the English: Elf (m), Elfe (f), Elfen "fairies". Elb (m, plural Elbe or Elben) is a reconstructed term, while Elbe (f) is attested in Middle High German. Alb, Alp (m), plural Alpe has the meaning of "incubus" (Old High German alp, plural *alpî or  *elpî).
 * East Germanic
 * Gothic *albs, plural *albeis (Procopius has the personal name Albila)