Dictionary

erlking en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɜːlkɪŋ/

Etymology

Partial calque of German Erlkönig (literally “alder-king”), a mistranslation of Danish ellerkonge (“king of the elves”).

Meanings

1. (European) In German literature and modern folklore, a malicious elf or spirit who preys on children.
   • By now, he seems less a cartoon character than some contemporary Erlking, the malicious spirit made famous by Goethe (and Schubert) but found originally in a Danish ballad. 2018 October 22, Carol Rumens, “Poem of the week: Three Poetesses by Kristín Ómarsdóttir”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • This line, and indeed the whole passage (lines 653-664), allude to the well-known poem by Goethe about the erlking, hoary enchanter of the elf-haunted alderwood, who falls in love with the delicate little boy of a belated traveler. 1962, Charles Kinbote [pseudonym; Vladimir Nabokov], Pale Fire, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, published November 1985, →ISBN:
   • So easy for one young son to be swallowed up in a world teeming with Erlkings, real and imagined. 2010, Rachel Billington, The Missing Boy, Hachette, →ISBN:
   • He was in the forest looking to see the trees / But none were there / He found a girl / She found the erlking 2012, ミラクルミュージカル, “Murders”, in Hawaii: Part II:

Forms

Translations (4)

de Erlkönig (erlking) · fr roi des aulnes (erlking) · ca rei dels verns (erlking) · vo laläfahireg (erlking)