>>884731
Elf, alf, elb, alb all means white. It's Germanic people.
English is a Germanic language and therefore an elven language.
German is a Germanic language and therefore an elven language.
Elves were the only things other than the gods themselves the Germanic people allowed for a synonym/substitute for humanity.
Show some respect.
The word elf comes from the Indo-european alb which is associated with white.
The proto-Germanic albiz (where all the Germanic forms of the word elf come from) means white-person, not just white.
As for the gods, there was no real distinction between elves and gods in the Skaldic verse. Both were used interchangeably. There's also some overlap between elves/gods and ancestral spirits.
And the connection to the Germanic Gods and the Germanic people should be obvious as tons of heroes, kings and wise men were said to be decedents of Gods or Elves and regular humans.
Even when Christianity became dominant many stories still involve elves mixing with righteous rulers and heroes, like in Karel ende Elegast where one of Charlemagne's sister married the elf king Elegast.