adj
Meaning 1
Unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
eldritch
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
/ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ/
-
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
CMU ARPABET: EH1 L D R IH0 CH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adjective satellite
Meaning 2
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences- John Galsworthy- Henry Kingsley
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- an eldritch screech
- the three weird sisters
- stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures
- an unearthly light
- he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: weird, uncanny, unearthly
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From the earlier form elritch, of uncertain origin. The second element, -ritch, is generally taken to be Old English rīċe (“realm, kingdom”). Some think that the first element, el-, derives from an Old English root meaning “foreign, strange, other” (related to Old English ellende and modern English else); others think that it derives from elf. It was reintroduced into popular literature by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.
Across languages
Translations
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Esperanto: preternatura — unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural
- Georgian: არაამქვეყნიური (araamkveq̇niuri) — unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural
- Irish: uafar — unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural
Real reading context