Dictionary

elve en · NOUN · etymology 1

Etymology

Obsolete form of elf.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, obsolete) Obsolete form of elf.
   alt of elf
   • Is it the offspring of thoughtless animal spirits, or the elve of fancy continually flitting round the expected pleasure? 1796, Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, Oxford, published 2009, page 61:
   • Sir Olof, he rode out at early day, / And so came he unto an Elve-dance gay.

Forms

elve en · NOUN · etymology 2

Etymology

From e(mission of) l(ight and) v(ery low-frequency perturbations from) e(lectromagnetic pulse sources), and to avoid clashing with the acronym ELF (extremely low frequency) used in the same field of science.

Meanings

1. A rapidly expanding disk-shaped region of red luminosity in the ionosphere, lasting less than a thousandth of a second, which occurs high above energetic cloud-to-ground lightning of positive or negative polarity.
   • It is likely that the first elve was recorded with the Space Shuttle low-light camera. 2006, Martin Füllekrug, Eugene A. Mareev, Michael J. Rycroft, Sprites, elves and intense lightning discharges, page 37:

Forms

Coordinates

sprite halo · blue jet · gnome · pixie · troll · red sprite · upward lightning · sprite · sprelve · gigantic jet · blue starter · transient luminous event

Translations (2)

cmn 淘氣精靈 /淘气精灵 (Translations) · fr elfe (Translations)