# elven

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛlv(ə)n/ · frequency rank #45,355

## Definitions
1. Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *albʰós
Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).

## Easily confused with
- **eve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-eve)
- **even** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-even)
- **ever** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-ever)
- **Evan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-evan)
- **event** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-event)
- **Elvis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-elvis)
- **elves** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-elves)
- **Ervin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-ervin)
- **Essen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-essen)
- **evens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elven-vs-evens)
- **een** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/een-vs-elven)
- **ele** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ele-vs-elven)
- **else** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/else-vs-elven)
- **Eden** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/eden-vs-elven)
- **elon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elon-vs-elven)
- **Elie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elie-vs-elven)
- **Eben** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/eben-vs-elven)
- **eaten** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/eaten-vs-elven)
- **elder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/elder-vs-elven)
- **ellen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ellen-vs-elven)

## Common misspellings (7)
`elevn`, `ellven`, `elvenn`, `elvne`, `elvven`, `evlen`, `leven`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/elven