gnome

Meaning

1. An elemental (spirit or corporeal creature associated with a classical element) associated with earth.
2. One of a race of imaginary human-like beings, usually depicted as short and typically bearded males, who inhabit the inner parts of the earth and act as guardians of mines, mineral treasure, etc.; in modern fantasy literature and games, when distinguished from dwarves, gnomes are usually even smaller than dwarves and more focussed on engineering than mining.
3. A person of small stature or misshapen features, or of strange appearance.
4. The northern pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma, a small owl of the western United States.
5. A small statue of a dwarf-like character, often bearded, placed in a garden.
6. An upper atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a compact blue starter.
7. A banker, especially a secretive international one.

Synonyms

dwarf

goblin

elf

🧝

brownie

sprite

fairy

🧚

hobgoblin

imp

👿

aphorism

maxim

hob

troll

🧌

epigraph

adage

holder

lilliputian

manikin

midge

midget

minim

motto

occupier

phantasm

phantom

phrase

pigmy

pixie

pixy

possessor

precept

proverb

pygmy

runt

sentence

specter

spectre

spook

wraith

apophthegm

gnome 1

gnome 2

barghest

expression

gobblin

apothegm

apparition

axiom

bogey

bogy

bugbear

dictum

epigram

evil sprite

formula

genie

🧞

ghost

👻

gremlin

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nəʊm/

Etymology

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