small and charmingly spritely, merry, or mischievous.
noun
3.
an elf.
Origin
1560-70; alteration of Middle Englishelven elf, Old Englishelfen, ælfen nymph, equivalent to ælf elf + -en feminine suffix (cognate with German-in); ælf cognate with GermanAlp nightmare, puck, Old Norsealfr 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).