elv

Borrowed from Norwegian elv, from Old Norse elfr, from Proto-Germanic *albī.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlˀʋ]

elv c (singular definite elven, plural indefinite elve)

1. river (in the mountains, especially in Scandinavia (outside of Denmark) and in Greenland)

• flod (river in general)
• å (river in Denmark)

From Old Norse elfr, from Proto-Germanic *albī.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlv/

elv f (genitive singular elvar, plural elvir)

1. (poetic) river

• (river): á

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlv]
• Rhymes: -ɛlv

From eleve (“originally, in the first place”), modeled after Latin principium (“beginning, principle”). Created during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries. First attested in 1815. First recorded as elev by András Dugonics, later shortened to elv by Pál Szemere.^[1][2]

elv (plural elvek)

1. principle

• elv in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• elv in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).

From Proto-Ugric *älə (“other side”).^[3] Preserved in place names such as Erdély (“Transylvania”, literally “beyond the forest”).

elv

2. (archaic, regional) the far side; the region beyond something (e.g., a forest or boundary)^[4]

• Erdély (“Transylvania”, the first element being erd(ő) (“forest”))

• IPA^(key): /ɛlʋ/

From Old Norse elfr, from Proto-Germanic *albī.

elv f or m (definite singular elva or elven, indefinite plural elver, definite plural elvene)

1. river

   Synonym: (large river) flod

• One of the nouns whose feminine form is predominant in formal writing.

From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós.

• alv

elv m (definite singular elven, indefinite plural elver, definite plural elvene)

1. elf

• “elv” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /ɛlʋ/, /ælʋ/

From Old Norse elfr, from Proto-Germanic *albī.

elv f (definite singular elva, indefinite plural elvar or elver, definite plural elvane or elvene)

1. river

• flod (large river)

From Old Norse alfr, from Proto-Germanic *albiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós.

• alv

elv m (definite singular elven, indefinite plural elvar or elver, definite plural elvane or elvene)

1. elf

• “elv” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.