Dictionary

elfwise en · ADV

Etymology

From elf + -wise.

Meanings

1. In the manner of an elf.
   • A terrible little haunting Perhaps had perched itself on his shoulder elfwise, very possibly, and was whispering its little trenchant probabilities in his ear. 1873, Edgar Fawcett, Purple and Fine Linen: A Novel, New York: G.W. Carleton and Co., page 464:
   • [A]lthough the ear which Ryk could see was pointed, elfwise, it was still a delicately patrician ear. 1948, Robert W. Krepps, The Field of Night, New York: Rinehart and Co., page 15:

Forms