ELF

See also: Elf and elf

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛlf/
• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Noun

ELF (uncountable)

1. (file format) Acronym of Executable and Linking Format, a common object file format for Unix.
   • 2016, Ryan "elfmaster" O'Neill, Learning Linux Binary Analysis, page 97:

     In ELF executables, there aren't a whole lot of code caves (such as in the PE format), so you are not likely to be able to shove more than just a meager amount of shellcode into existing code slots […]

2. (electronics) Initialism of extremely low frequency.

   Coordinate terms: LF, VLF

3. (linguistics) Acronym of English as a lingua franca (“English used by non-native speakers”).

   Coordinate term: Globish

   • 2012, Anna Mauranen, Exploring ELF: Academic English Shaped by Non-native Speakers, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 3:

     The consequences of the massive volume of ELF to English taken as a whole, as the aggregate use of the language, is essentially a descriptive issue: what new features of English are emerging and taking hold?

See also

• (computing): DWARF
• (electronics): LW, MW, RF, SW

Proper noun

ELF

1. Initialism of Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmentalism group.
   • 2022 May 26, Matthew Wolfe, “The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground”, in The New York Times Magazine‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 January 2026:

     In the late 1990s, the ELF became notorious for setting fire to symbols of ecological destruction, including timber mills, an S.U.V. dealership and a ski resort.

2. Initialism of Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, an organization that studies the invented languages of J. R. R. Tolkien.
3. Initialism of Endangered Language Fund, a non-profit organization.

Anagrams

• FLE, EFL