elven

Etymology 1

PIE word *albʰós Learned borrowing from Middle English elve, elven (“(also attributively) elf or fairy of either sex”) [and other forms], from Old English elfen, ælfen, ielfen (“female elf”), from elf, ælf, ielf (“elf”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *albiz (“elf, fairy”), from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”)) + -en (suffix forming feminine nouns). The English word is cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“fairy, nymph”).

noun

1. Originally, a female elf, a fairy, a nymph; (by extension) any elf.
   When you told Amberle that we must come here tonight, she reminded you that you had informed the Elvens at the High Council that she would be given a day or two to rest. You answered her by saying that what you told them was a necessary deception. What did you mean by that? 1982, Terry Brooks, chapter 19, in The Elfstones of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, page 162
   "In order for the elvens to stay in hiding, they live under the great vines rather above them," Aida answered. […] An elven walked over to Rhyona and nodded to her, then entered the thick wood alone. 2007 April, Derric Euperio, “The Elven and the Troll”, in The Adventures of Ryushin: Two Hearts, Montgomery, Ala.: E-BookTime, page 122
   The first reference to a choice being granted the Half-elvens is in the "Sketch," but it only applies to Elrond and is not exactly the same choice as in the Quenta Silmarillion,[…]. The Quenta Silmarillion, however, formalizes this matter of the Half-elvens having to choose. The text describes a debate among the Valar in which Mandos asserts, "[Eärendel] shall surely die…" but since he is both Elf and Man, Ulmo asks, "which half shall die?" 2008, Elizabeth A. Whittingham, “Death and Immortality among Elves and Men”, in Donald E. Palumbo, C. W. Sullivan III, editors, The Evolution of Tolkien’s Mythology: A Study of The History of Middle-earth (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy; 7), Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company
   Although Cass vaguely remembered her trials, she knew her father had been disappointed when she hadn’t possessed enough magic to be sent to the elvens’ home world, the fabled Elfhame. 2010, Kathryne Kennedy, chapter 2, in The Fire Lord’s Lover, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 30

Etymology 2

From the attributive use of Middle English elven (“elf or fairy of either sex”) (see etymology 1), like English elfin, reinterpreted as elf + -en (suffix with the sense ‘pertaining to; having the qualities of; resembling’ forming adjectives). The word first appears in the English author and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien’s works The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955): see the quotations.

adj

1. Belonging or relating to, or characteristic of, elves; elfin, elflike.
   He noted the telltale Elven features immediately—the hint of slightly pointed ears beneath the tousled blond hair, the pencil-like eyebrows that ran straight up at a sharp angle from the bridge of the nose rather than across the brow, and the slimness of the nose and jaw. 1977 April, Terry Brooks, chapter I, in The Sword of Shannara (A Del Rey Book), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published May 1978, pages 16–17
   And now, this pitiless light, undiluted by elven love and judgment, burst through me like the arrows of the stars. 1990 spring, Michael Rutherford, “Knight of Darkness, Knight of Light”, in John Betancourt, George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, editors, Weird Tales: The Unique Magazine, volume 51, number 3 (number 296 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Terminus Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 127, column 1
   You know as a boy I was raised by the monks of Silban's Abbey, near the elven forest. I played with elven children, and before I came here, I hunted with Prince Calin and his cousin, Galain. 1992, Raymond E[lias] Feist, “Apprentice”, in Magician (The Riftwar Saga; 1), revised edition, London: Voyager, HarperCollinsPublishers, published 1997, page 21
   Not all of the elven folk are benign. There are dark elves, too, who do not wish humans well. 1996, David Goddard, “The Devas”, in The Sacred Magic of the Angels, Boston, Mass., York Beach, Me.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, pages 107–108
   The elven lords stood in a half circle, ominously still and silent. […] Despite their beautiful faces and perfect forms, she knew the elven were evil. 2012, Kathryne Kennedy, The Lord of Illusion, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Casablanca, page 375

Etymology 3

Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).

noun

1. (Kent, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire) An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra))).