The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
ELF
elf, hob, gremlin, pixie, pixy, brownie, imp
(noun) (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
elf (plural elves)
(Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.
Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. They are usually delicate-featured and skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.
(fantasy) Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse álfar (through Tolkien's Eldar).
A very diminutive person; a dwarf.
(South Africa) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).
Synonyms
• (supernatural creature): See goblin (hostile); fairy (small)
Hyponyms
• elfe
• elven
• wood elf, wood-elf
Verb
elf (third-person singular simple present elfs, present participle elfing, simple past and past participle elfed)
(now rare) To twist into elflocks (of hair); to mat.
Anagrams
• EFL
Noun
ELF (uncountable)
(computing) Initialism of Executable and Linking Format (a common object file format for Unix)
(electronics) Initialism of extremely low frequency (band of radio frequencies from 3 to 30 hertz)
(linguistics) Initialism of English as a Lingua Franca.
Proper noun
ELF
Initialism of Earth Liberation Front (a radical environmentalism group)
Initialism of Elvish Linguistic Fellowship (an organization that studies the invented languages of J. R. R. Tolkien)
Initialism of Endangered Language Fund (a non-profit organization)
Anagrams
• EFL
Source: Wiktionary
Elf, n.; pl. Elves. Etym: [AS. ælf, ylf; akin to MHG. alp, G. alp nightmare, incubus, Icel. elf, Sw. alf, elfva; cf. Skr. rbhu skillful, artful, rabh to grasp. Cf. Auf, Oaf.]
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.
Elf, v. t.
Definition: To entangle mischievously, as an elf might do. Elf all my hair in knots. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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