English Dictionary

GNOME

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gnome mean? 

GNOME (noun)
  The noun GNOME has 2 senses:

1. a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasureplay

2. a short pithy saying expressing a general truthplay

  Familiarity information: GNOME used as a noun is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


GNOME (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

A legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

dwarf; gnome

Hypernyms ("gnome" is a kind of...):

faerie; faery; fairy; fay; sprite (a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gnome"):

Nibelung ((German mythology) any of the group of dwarfs who possessed a treasure hoard that was stolen by Siegfried)

Andvari ((Norse mythology) a dwarf who possessed a treasure that was stolen by Loki)

Derivation:

gnomic (relating to or containing gnomes)


Sense 2

Meaning:

A short pithy saying expressing a general truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("gnome" is a kind of...):

axiom; maxim (a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gnome"):

Murphy's Law; Sod's Law (humorous axiom stating that anything that can go wrong will go wrong)


 Context examples 


"Strikes me you're a bit of star-dust yourself, flung into a world of cowled gnomes who cannot see," was his comment at the end of it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

And, Miss Eyre, so much was I flattered by this preference of the Gallic sylph for her British gnome, that I installed her in an hotel; gave her a complete establishment of servants, a carriage, cashmeres, diamonds, dentelles, &c.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"No hoof, no horse." (English proverb)

"The word of the old, and the gun of the young." (Albanian proverb)

"Good manners is the greatest friend." (Arabic proverb)

"After rain comes sunshine" (Dutch proverb)



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