Leprechaun

There are a number of possible etymologies of the name “leprechaun”. One of the most widely accepted theories is that the name comes from the Irish word leipreachán, defined by Dinneen as “a pigmy, a sprite, a leprechaun; for luchorpán“; the latter word Dinneen defines as “a pigmy, a leprechaun; ‘a kind of aqueous sprite’”; this word has also been identified as meaning “half-bodied”, or “small-bodied”. This is the etymology given in the Collins English Dictionary.

The word which is widely believed to be the root and one of the ones quoted by the Oxford English Dictionary is luchorpán. An alternative derivation for the name and another one quoted by the Oxford English Dictionary, is leath bhrógan, meaning shoe-maker — the leprechaun is known as the fairy shoemaker of Ireland and is often portrayed working on a single shoe. Another derivation has the word “leprechaun” deriving from luch-chromain, meaning “little stooping Lugh”, Lugh being the name of a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The word leprechaun was first recorded used in the English language in 1604 in Middleton and Dekker’s The Honest Whore as lubrican. The original meaning was of some kind of spirit and not specifically associated with the Irish mythological character:

“As for your Irish Lubrican, that spirit

Whom by preposterous charms thy lust has raised.”

Some alternative spellings of the word leprechaun that have been used throughout the ages are; leprechawn, lepracaun and lubberkin. The word leprehaun has also been used.

Mythology

Leprechauns rarely appear in what would be classed as a folk tale; in almost all cases the interest of these stories centres round a human hero. Stories about leprechauns are generally very brief and generally have local names and scenery attached to them. The tales are usually told conversationally as any other occurrence might be told, whereas there is a certain solemnity about the repetition of a folk-tale proper.

In most tales and stories leprechauns are depicted as generally harmless creatures who enjoy solitude and live in remote locations, although opinion is divided as to if they ever enjoy the company of other spirits. Although rarely seen in social situations, leprechauns are supposedly very well spoken and, if ever spoken to, could make good conversation.

Among the most popular of beliefs about leprechauns is that they are extremely wealthy and like to hide their gold in secret locations, which can only be revealed if a person were to actually capture and interrogate a leprechaun for its money.

By nature, leprechauns are said to be ill-natured and mischievous, with a mind for cunning. Many tales present the leprechaun as outwitting a human, as in the following examples.

It is said Leprechauns are from hell and get their powers from their gold which gets its power from satan.

Another tale of the leprechans origin is in the time of yore, the king of ireland used earth magic to bring forth little men (leprechauns) to protect his gold and punish those who dare to steal it.

Examples of tales involving leprechauns

A farmer or young lad captures a leprechaun and forces him to reveal the location of his buried treasure. The leprechaun assures him that the treasure is buried in an open field beneath a particular ragwort plant. The farmer ties a red ribbon to the plant, first extracting a promise from the leprechaun not to remove the ribbon. Releasing the leprechaun, he leaves to get a shovel. Upon his return he finds that every weed in the field has been tied with an identical red ribbon, thus making it impossible to find the treasure.

In another story, a young girl finds a leprechaun and bids him show her the location of his buried money. She takes him up in her hand and sets out to find the treasure, but all of a sudden she hears a loud buzzing behind her. The leprechaun shouts at her that she is being chased by a swarm of bees, but when she looks around there are no bees and the leprechaun has vanished.

In other stories they are told of riding shepherds’ dogs through the night, leaving the dogs exhausted and dirty in the morning. It is said that at the end of a rainbow, you may find a leprechaun and his treasured pot of gold.

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