eldritch
eld·ritch
adjective
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
- “an eldritch screech”
- “the three weird sisters”
- “stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures” John Galsworthy
- “an unearthly light”
- “he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din” Henry Kingsley
Origin
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.
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.