photo / Paul KeleherELFS, not ELVES!
Since it’s the holiday season, I feel compelled to share with the world an important piece of information I learned today, something I feel ashamed for not knowing: there is a distinction between elfs and elves.
The pluralization is all-important – elves indicates human-sized creatures like Legolas, while elfs indicates the tiny creatures, like the Keebler Elfs or Santa’s Elfs.
Wikipedia says:
Elf can be pluralised as both elves and elfs. Something associated with elves or the qualities of elves is described by the adjectives elven, elvish, elfin or elfish. According to a convention of modern fantasy, the ‘v’ in elven or elvish refers to human-sized elves (who correspond more closely to those of the old Germanic paganism), whereas the f in elfin or elfish refers to tinier creatures (who correspond more closely to the folklore of the Renaissance and Romantic Eras).
So this Christmas, do the right thing: spell elfs with an F. Santa’s helpers will thank you for it.
Comments
Seeing “elves” everywhere is now going to annoy the shit out of me forever. But what are Legolas?
I should have written “like Legolas the Elf from Lord of the Rings.” Sorry!