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gnome1

Syllabification: (gnome)
Pronunciation: /nōm/
Translate gnome | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of gnome

noun

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

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)

gnome in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of gnome in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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