ælfþone

== Old English == === 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈælf.θo.ne/, [ˈæɫf.θo.ne] === Noun === ælfþone f Nightshade (probably the scrambling shrub Solanum dulcamara), as ascribed to (and/or having apotropaic powers against) elves. ==== Declension ==== Weak n-stem: === References === Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “ælf-þone”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press. “ælf-þone”, in Dictionary of Old English Plant Names, edited by P. Bierbaumer, H. Sauer, et al., 2007–2026