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gnome

UK/ˈnəʊ̯m/US/ˈnoʊ̯m/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,849 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: gnomes

A gnome is a small bearded figure of folklore, often in a garden. A garden gnome, gnomes and fairies, the gnome with a fishing rod.

The garden ones came from Germany in the nineteenth century and are still made there. The word was coined by the alchemist Paracelsus for an earth spirit. Gnomes of Zurich was a British politician's phrase for Swiss bankers, and it stuck for decades.

Definitions of gnome

  1. 1noungnomeA small bearded figure of folklore, often in a garden.B2+

    “My grandmother keeps a little stone gnome with a fishing rod beside her pond.”

gnome is a figure.

Where it comes from

Coined in New Latin by Paracelsus as a name for an earth spirit, of uncertain further origin.

  1. New Latin

    gnomus

  2. French

    gnome — gnome

  3. English, today

    gnome

Built from

  • pygmaeus · Latin — pygmy

From French gnome (“gnome”), from New Latin gnomus, used by Paracelsus as a synonym for pygmaeus (“pygmy”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

gnome in the wild

  • Lawn ornaments crafted as gnomes were introduced during the 19th century, growing in popularity during the 20th century as garden gnomes.

    Gnome

  • In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters.

    Gnome (Dungeons & Dragons)

  • Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are smaller and more tolerant of other races, nature, and magic.

    Gnome (Dungeons & Dragons)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.