Etymology

From Danish ellerkonge ‎(“king of the elves”), in which eller- was misinterpreted as German Low German Eller ‎(“alder”), and which was thus translated into standard German as Erlkönig (Erle +‎ König). This form was spread by Goethe’s famous poem. Low German Eller is from Middle Low German elre, from Old Saxon elis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁlˌkøːnɪç/, [ˈɛʁlˌkøːnɪç], [ˈɛɐ̯l-]