Elf n.; pl. Elves
1. An imaginary supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous tricks.
Every elf, and fairy sprite,
Hop as light as bird from brier. --Shak.
2. A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
Elf arrow, a flint arrowhead; -- so called by the English rural folk who often find these objects of prehistoric make in the fields and formerly attributed them to fairies; -- called also elf bolt, elf dart, and elf shot.
Elf child, a child supposed to be left by elves, in room of one they had stolen. See Changeling.
Elf fire, the ignis fatuus. --Brewer.
Elf owl Zoöl., a small owl (Micrathene Whitneyi) of Southern California and Arizona.