• leprechaun •
Printable Version Pronunciation: le-prê-kahn • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A mythical Irish elfin, one of the mischievous Little People of Irish folklore with a purse, the contents of which is given to anyone who catches one.
Notes: There are several spelling traps in this word, beginning with the second E, which is often miswritten as A. Next, look out for the CH which is pronounced [k], and, finally, the AU, which might be spelled [aw] in some dialects and [a], in others. (It is only spelled AU in all dialects.) There is an adjective, should you see someone resembling one of the wee folk: leprechaunish "like a leprechaun".
In Play: Everyone is Irish today, so we thought we would explore another word of Irish origin and wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's: "Twasn't me, mum, who broke the lamp, but a leaping little leprechaun who doesn't respect other people's property." The leprechauns do come out at night to figure in whatever mischief there is: "Well, doesn't he come home then in the wee small hours with that leprechaunish grin on his face!"
Word History: Nothing seems more Irish than the Gaelic word leprechaun but lurking inside this word is a Latin borrowing that attests to the Catholic Church's influence on the language. 
The Irish Gaelic luprachán goes back to Old Irish luchorpán. This word is luchorp from lú- "small" + corp "body"—from Latin corpus "body" + -án, a diminutive suffix. The Gaelic lu "small" is a radically reduced form of PIE *legwh- "light, having little weight" of which English light is a historical paronym. In Latin it emerged as levis "light" and in Russian lëgkiy "light". With a fickle [n], it also emerged in English as lungs which are still called lights when applied to farm animals.
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