elfin

[el-fin] /ˈɛl fɪn/
adjective
1.
of or like an elf.
2.
small and charmingly spritely, merry, or mischievous.
noun
3.
an elf.
Origin
1560-70; alteration of Middle English elven elf, Old English elfen, ælfen nymph, equivalent to ælf elf + -en feminine suffix (cognate with German -in); ælf cognate with German Alp nightmare, puck, Old Norse alfr elf
Examples from the web for elfin
  • He smiled his elfin, mischievous smile, his eyes closing.
  • Afflicted with some unknown disease, and supposed to have been wounded by an elfin arrow.
  • They wore turbans too, and thereunder peered out their elfin faces at me,-faces with protruding lower-jaws and bright eyes.
  • There, she destroys ornamental statues with elfin shapes.
  • Jeff inherited his father's dark, elfin good looks and ethereal voice.
  • Some days the stolen cloth reveals what it was made for: a handsome weskit or the jerkin of an elfin sailor.
British Dictionary definitions for elfin

elfin

/ˈɛlfɪn/
adjective
1.
of, relating to, or like an elf or elves
2.
small, delicate, and charming
Word Origin and History for elfin
adj.

1590s, from elf; first found in Spenser, who may have been thinking of elven but the word also is a proper name in the Arthurian romances (Elphin).