noun One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.
Origin:
Origin: Irish Gaelic luprachán
Origin: , alteration of Middle Irish luchrupán
Origin: , from Old Irish luchorpán
Origin: : luchorp (lú-, small; see legwh- in Indo-European roots + corp, body from Latin corpus; see kwrep- in Indo-European roots)
Origin: + -án, diminutive suff
.
Related Forms:
- lepˈre·chaunˌish adjective
Word History: Nothing seems more Irish than the leprechaun; yet hiding within the word
leprechaun is a word from another language entirely. If we look back beyond Modern Irish Gaelic
luprachán and Middle Irish
luchrupán to Old Irish
luchorpán, we can see the connection.
Luchorpán is a compound of Old Irish
lú, meaning “small,” and the Old Irish word
corp, “body.”
Corp is borrowed from Latin
corpus (which we know from
habeas corpus). Here is a piece of evidence attesting to the deep influence of Church Latin on the Irish language. Although the word is old in Irish it is fairly new in English, being first recorded in 1604.