Alf
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar. Norse
"As the Scandinavians were at that time still worshippers of Thor and Odin, the belief in Alfs and Dwarfs accompanied them to their new abodes, and there, as elsewhere, survived the introduction of Christianity."
- 2 An uncultured Australian. Australia, derogatory, slang
"Martin Sharp once described Sydney's western suburbs to me hazily as 'where the Alfs live'."
- 1 A diminutive of the male given names Alfred or Alfonso, from the Germanic languages.
- 2 Initialism of Animal Liberation Front (name used by animal rights activists engaging in direct action). abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 Initialism of automatic letter facing: mechanical postal system introduced in the UK in 1957 to align the stamps to the correct position for the franking machine. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 Initialism of assisted living facility. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Example
More examples"As the Scandinavians were at that time still worshippers of Thor and Odin, the belief in Alfs and Dwarfs accompanied them to their new abodes, and there, as elsewhere, survived the introduction of Christianity."
Etymology
From Danish and Swedish alf, from Old Norse alfr; see also Dutch alf. Doublet of elf, awf, and oaf.
Related phrases
More for "alf"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.