Leprechaun

You may be interested or surprised to know that recent research suggests that the word leprechaun has its origins in the ancient Roman rituals of Lupercalia in which young men ran naked through the streets of Rome.
 
First of all, the word leprechaun comes to English around 1600 from Irish lupracan and Old Irish luchorpan (a very small body), from Old Irish lu (little, small) from the Proto-Indo-European root legwh (not heavy, having little weight). Old Irish lu + Latin corp (body) = little body.
 
So, what’s with leprechauns and Lupercalia? The Luperci were originally bands of aristocratic youth who ran naked through the streets of Roman during the festival of Lupercalia on the 15th of February each year. The Online Etymological Dictionary reports that…
 
“In the 5th century CE, St Augustine of Hippo compared the Luperci with the Greek werewolves who were believed to change from men into wolves by swimming through a lake in Arcadia. Two centuries later Irish scholars misunderstood Augustine. They thought he meant that the Luperci were an ancient non-human race. Because they could swim they were supposed to have survived Noah's Flood and taken refuge in Ireland. So, in medieval Irish legends the leprechauns or 'little Luperci' still lived under water. The wolf connection was soon forgotten and eventually the 'little Lupercus' became the familiar land-dwelling leprechaun of modern Irish folklore and tourism.” https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=LEPRECHAUN
 
So, feel free to share this story with your friends over a pint or two of Guinness!
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/