Erlking
//ˈɜːlkɪŋ// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 In German literature and modern folklore, a malicious elf or spirit who preys on children. European
"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."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of erlking. alt-of
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
Partial calque of German Erlkönig (literally “alder-king”), a mistranslation of Danish ellerkonge (“king of the elves”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.