ælfþone

Old English

Alternative forms

• ielfþone

Etymology

From ælf (“elf”) + *-þone, so named because it was considered a remedy for ælfādl (“elf disease”). The second element may be a cognate to þennan (“to stretch”), referring to the weakly climbing nature of the plant's stalk.

Noun

ælfþone f

1. Nightshade (probably the scrambling shrub Solanum dulcamara), as ascribed to (and/or having apotropaic powers against) elves.

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ælf-þone”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “ælf-þone”, in Dictionary of Old English Plant Names, edited by P. Bierbaumer, H. Sauer, et al., 2007–2024