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Alexis Miller

Huh. Merriam-Webster doesn't have an entry for "elven."

"Elfin"? Yes. "Elvish"? Yes. But not "Elven."

Other dictionaries include "elven," which makes me wonder what M-W is waiting for. Is it not used enough outside of fantasy novels?

This sends me to Google Ngrams... and now I want to explore how "elven" was used in various works—and when those works became particularly popular.

But no. I have responsibilities.

A graph compares how frequently "elven," "elfin," and "elvish" were used from 1800 to 2019. "Elfin" was by far the most common until around 2008, when "elven" overtook it. "Elven" was barely used at all until around 1980. In 1997, it started to be used with fast-growing frequency, as seen by a suddenly steep line. "Elvish" has always been used much less frequently than "elfin." It was used more frequently than "elven" until about 1973. (Source: Google Books Ngram Viewer. Results are taken from books published in English from 1800 to 2019.)
#AmEditing#fantasy#elf
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Alan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏

@Alexis_WordsUnbound Two, count 'em TWO different spell checkers rejected "hissy". Naturally I threw a fit.

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