leprechaun means one of a race of elves that can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.
leprechaun is pronounced /ˈlɛpɹəkɔːn/.
Why “leprechaun” is a great word
A solitary fairy of Irish folklore, a diminutive, aged man often depicted as a cobbler, who guards a hidden crock of gold. Its name descends from Irish *leipreachán*, *luprachán*, from Middle Irish *luchrupán*, from Old Irish *luchorpán* (traditionally analyzed as *lú* ("small") + *corp* ("body"), from Latin *corpus*); first attested in English c. 1600. Unlike an "elf," a communal, sylvan being of Germanic grace, or a "goblin," a creature of outright malice, the leprechaun is a parsimonious, terrestrial trickster, bound to craft and hoard. He is the solitary tap-tap-tap of a cobbler’s hammer in a hollow tree, the flash of a red coat vanishing into the hawthorn, the maddening certainty of wealth buried where the rainbow ends—a figment of avarice made flesh, the small, stubborn god of unearned luck, forever working, forever hiding what we most want to find.
Etymology
From Irish leipreachán, luprachán, from Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán. See also Irish lucharachán.
The word's further etymology is disputed; it is traditionally explained as a compound containing lú (“small”, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-) + corp (“body”, which is from Latin corpus). However, an alternative suggestion is that it is a derivative of Latin Lupercī (“priests of Lupercus”), who were misinterpreted as an antediluvian species by medieval Irish scholars.
noun
- One of a race of elves that can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.“Do you not catch the tiny clamour, / Busy click of an elfin hammer, / Voice of the leprechaun singing shrill, / As he merrily plies his trade?”
- An Irish person.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- fairy 82% match — The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion. vs leprechaun →
- pixie 81% match — A playful sprite or elflike or fairy-like creature. vs leprechaun →
- menehune 81% match — A member of a hidden race in Hawaiian mythology, often described as very small and having magical powers. vs leprechaun →
- pooka 79% match — A fairy that supposedly appears in animal form, often large. vs leprechaun →
- sidhe 79% match — A supernatural creature of Irish and Scottish folklore, living in Sidhe; a fairy. vs leprechaun →
- spriggan 79% match — In Cornish folklore, a malicious spirit in the form of a wizened old man. vs leprechaun →
- tommyknocker 79% match — A mythical creature, like a brownie or leprechaun, believed to live in underground tunnels; later associated with dead miners. vs leprechaun →
- shamrock 78% match — The trefoil leaf of any small clover, especially Trifolium repens, or such a leaf from a clover-like plant, commonly used as a symbol of Ireland. vs leprechaun →