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An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine or semi-divine beings (wights, v?ttir) endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind. In pre-Christian mythology, they appear to have been divided into light elves and dark elves, difficult to delineate from the ?sir (gods) on one hand and the dvergar (dwarves) on the other.
In Scandinavian folklore, which is a later blend of Norse mythology and elements of Christian mythology, an elf is called "elver" in Danish, "alv" in Norwegian, and "alv" or "alva" in Swedish (the first is masculine, the second feminine). The Norwegian expressions seldom appear in genuine folklore, and when they do, they are always used synonymous to "huldrefolk" or "vetter", a category of earth-dwelling beings generally held to be more related to Norse dwarves than elves which is comparable to the Icelandic "huldufolk" (hidden people).
In Denmark and Sweden, the elves appear as beings distinct from the vetter, even though the border between them is diffuse. The insect-winged fairies in British folklore are often called "alvor" in modern Swedish or "alfer" in Danish, although the correct translation is "feer". In a similar vein, the alf found in the fairy tale "The Elf of the Rose" by Danish author H. C. Andersen is so tiny that he can have a rose blossom for home, and has "wings that reached from his shoulders to his feet". Yet, Andersen also wrote about elvere in "The Elfin Hill". The elves in this story are more alike those of traditional Danish folklore, who were beautiful females, living in hills and boulders, capable of dancing a man to death. Like the huldra in Norway and Sweden, they are hollow when seen from the back.