Elf vs. Fey — What's the Difference?

An elf (plural: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore (especially North Germanic mythology and folklore). In medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, elves generally seem to have been thought of as beings with magical powers and supernatural beauty, ambivalent towards everyday people and capable of either helping or hindering them.

Overrefined, exaggerated, or affected

A mythical creature in human form but usually smaller, often considered mischievous.

Effeminate

A lively, mischievous child.

Having or displaying an otherworldly, magical, or fairylike aspect or quality

A usually sprightly or mischievous or sometimes spiteful person.

Having visionary power; clairvoyant.

(Norse mythology) A luminous spirit presiding over nature and fertility and dwelling in the world of Álfheim (Elfland). Compare angel, nymph, fairy.

Appearing touched or crazy, as if under a spell.

Any from a race of mythical, supernatural beings resembling but seen as distinct from human beings. They are usually delicate-featured and skilled in magic or spellcrafting; sometimes depicted as clashing with dwarves, especially in modern fantasy literature.

Fated to die soon.

(fantasy) Any of the magical, typically forest-guarding races bearing some similarities to the Norse álfar (through Tolkien's Eldar).

Full of the sense of approaching death.

A very diminutive person; a dwarf.

About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death.

(South Africa) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).

(obsolete) Dying; dead.

To twist into elflocks (of hair); to mat.

Possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience.

An imaginary supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous tricks.

Overrefined, affected.

A very diminutive person; a dwarf.

Strange or otherworldly.

To entangle mischievously, as an elf might do.

Spellbound.

(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous

Magical or fairylike.

Below 3 kilohertz

Fairy folk collectively.

Fated; doomed.

Faith.

To cleanse; to clean out.

Slightly insane

Suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness;