Elfin definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ELF'IN, a. Relating or pertaining to elves.
ELF'IN, n. A little urchin.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness; "thunderbolts quivered with elfin flares of heat lightning"; "the fey quality was there, the ability to see the moon at midday"- John Mason Brown [syn: elfin, fey]
2: small and delicate; "she was an elfin creature--graceful and delicate"; "obsessed by things elfin and small" [syn: elfin, elflike]
3: relating to or made or done by or as if by an elf; "elfin bells"; "all the little creatures joined in the elfin dance"
4: usually good-naturedly mischievous; "perpetrated a practical joke with elfin delight"; "elvish tricks" [syn: elfin, elfish, elvish]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: irregular from elf Date: 1590 1. a. of, relating to, or produced by an elf b. resembling an elf especially in its tiny size <elfin portions> 2. having an otherworldly or magical quality or charm

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. of elves; elflike. --n. archaic a dwarf; a child. Etymology: ELF, perh. infl. by ME elvene genit. pl. of elf, and by Elphin in Arthurian romance

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thecla Thec"la, n. Any one of many species of small delicately colored butterflies belonging to Thecla and allied genera; -- called also hairstreak, and elfin.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Elfin Elf"in (-[i^]n), a. Relating to elves.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Elfin Elf"in, n. A little elf or urchin. --Shenstone.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe someone as elfin, you think that they are attractive because they are small and have delicate features. ...a little boy with an elfin face. ADJ: usu ADJ n [approval]

Moby Thesaurus

Lilliputian, Tom Thumb, arch, dainty, diminutive, dumpy, dwarf, dwarfed, dwarfish, elfish, elflike, elvish, faery, fairy, fairyish, fairylike, fay, frolicsome, gnomelike, gnomish, impish, incipient, little, meager, midget, mischievous, nanoid, pixieish, playful, puckish, pygmy, rudimental, rudimentary, runty, scraggy, scrubby, shriveled, shrunk, shrunken, small, sprightly, squat, stunted, sylphidine, sylphine, sylphish, sylphlike, sylphy, tiny, tricky, undersize, undersized, wee, wizened