eldritch

adjective

el·dritch ˈel-drich How to pronounce eldritch (audio)

: strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie

And the woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong, turned with a skip, and was gone.

Robert Louis Stevenson

… the film works its whimsically eldritch spell through inspired casting, brilliant editing, and subtly astonishing special effects …

Ty Burr

Did you know?

Curse, "cobweb," "witch," "ghost," and even "Halloween" - all of these potentially spooky words have roots in Old English. "Eldritch," also, comes from a time when otherworldly beings were commonly thought to inhabit the earth. The word is about 500 years old and believed to have come from Middle English "elfriche," meaning "fairyland." The two components of "elfriche" - "elf" and "riche" - come from the Old English "ælf" and "rīce" (words which meant, literally, "elf kingdom"). Robert Louis Stevenson wasn't scared of "eldritch." He used the term in his novel Kidnapped: "'The curse on him and his house, byre and stable, man, guest, and master, wife, miss, or bairn -- black, black be their fall!' -The woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch sing-song, turned with a skip, and was gone."

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Listen here Westside Fairytales Demons, desperate souls, and eldritch horrors.

Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, 20 Apr. 2020 The 1906 earthquake toppled or knocked askew thousands of tombstones and statues, increasing the cemeteries’ eldritch appearance.

Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2018 Just as a graphic-novel presentation may ease a young reader’s access to the eldritch world of Poe, so art books for children use informality to make fine art accessible to the potential young connoisseur.

Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 28 July 2017

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Middle English *elfriche fairyland, from Middle English elf + riche kingdom, from Old English rīce — more at rich

First Known Use

1508, in the meaning defined above

单词	eldritch
释义	eldritch adjective el·dritch ˈel-drich : strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie And the woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong, turned with a skip, and was gone. Robert Louis Stevenson … the film works its whimsically eldritch spell through inspired casting, brilliant editing, and subtly astonishing special effects … Ty Burr Did you know? Curse, "cobweb," "witch," "ghost," and even "Halloween" - all of these potentially spooky words have roots in Old English. "Eldritch," also, comes from a time when otherworldly beings were commonly thought to inhabit the earth. The word is about 500 years old and believed to have come from Middle English "elfriche," meaning "fairyland." The two components of "elfriche" - "elf" and "riche" - come from the Old English "ælf" and "rīce" (words which meant, literally, "elf kingdom"). Robert Louis Stevenson wasn't scared of "eldritch." He used the term in his novel Kidnapped: "'The curse on him and his house, byre and stable, man, guest, and master, wife, miss, or bairn -- black, black be their fall!' -The woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch sing-song, turned with a skip, and was gone." Example Sentences Recent Examples on the Web Listen here Westside Fairytales Demons, desperate souls, and eldritch horrors. Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, 20 Apr. 2020 The 1906 earthquake toppled or knocked askew thousands of tombstones and statues, increasing the cemeteries’ eldritch appearance. Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2018 Just as a graphic-novel presentation may ease a young reader’s access to the eldritch world of Poe, so art books for children use informality to make fine art accessible to the potential young connoisseur. Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 28 July 2017 Word History Etymology perhaps from Middle English elfriche fairyland, from Middle English elf* + riche kingdom, from Old English rīce — more at rich First Known Use 1508, in the meaning defined above
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