I. ˈelfə̇n adjective
Etymology: irregular from elf
1.
a. : of, relating to, or produced by an elf
elfin bells
all the little creatures joined in the elfin dance
b. : of or relating to a small child or to childhood
the elfin adventurous time when tall weeds closed over us like woods — G.K.Chesterton
2.
a. : small, slight, and delicately made or proportioned : dwarfish
a little elfin man whose reddish hair was beginning to thin and gray — W.A.White
apparently was obsessed by things elfin and small — Green Peyton
b. : quick, agile, and delicate (as in movement or thought)
unfailingly shows poetic insight and elfin liveliness of fancy — American Guide Series: Ind.
his touch was light, crisp, and somehow deliciously comic; he could start the keys into elfin life — J.B.Priestley
c. : good-naturedly or slyly mischievous : playful , puckish
with elfin delight he perpetuated a successful practical joke — J.A.Morris b. 1904
d. : having an otherworldly, unearthly, or magical quality : fey
a strange elfin creature
thunderheads quivered with the elfin flares of the heat lightning — Edwin Granberry
II. noun
( -s )
1. : elf ; also : child , urchin
2. : any of several delicate grayish brown or orange-brown hairstreak butterflies (genus Incisalia ) flying in early spring