Leprechauns
[lep-ruh-kawn, -kon] /ˈlɛp rəˌkɔn, -ˌkɒn/
noun, Irish Folklore.
1.
a dwarf or sprite.
2.
a conventionalized literary representation of this figure as a little old man who will reveal the location of a hidden crock of gold to anyone who catches him.
/ˈlɛprəˌkɔːn/
noun
1.
(in Irish folklore) a mischievous elf, often believed to have a treasure hoard
n.
c.1600, from Irish lupracan, metathesis from Old Irish luchorpan literally “a very small body,” from lu “little” (from PIE *legwh- “having little weight;” see light (adj.)) + corpan, diminutive of corp “body,” from Latin corpus “body” (see corporeal). Commonly spelled lubrican in 17c. English. Leithbragan is Irish folk etymology, from leith “half” + brog “brogue,” because the spirit was “supposed to be always employed in making or mending a single shoe.”
In the folklore of Ireland, little men who resemble elves. Supposedly, leprechauns can reveal — but only to someone clever enough to catch them — the location of buried treasure, typically a crock of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow.
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