gnome1

 
Pronunciation: /nəʊm/

noun

  • a legendary dwarfish creature supposed to guard the earth’s treasures underground.
  • a small garden ornament in the form of a bearded man with a pointed hat.
  • informal a small ugly person: a grizzled gnome of a man
  • informal a person regarded as having secret or sinister influence in financial matters: the gnomes of Zurich

Derivatives

gnomish

adjective

Origin:

mid 17th century: from French, from modern Latin gnomus, a word used by Paracelsus as a synonym of Pygmaeus, denoting a mythical race of very small people said to inhabit parts of Ethiopia and India (compare with pygmy)