dwarf definition | Dictionary.com

dwarf

[dwawrf]

noun, plural dwarfs, dwarves, adjective, verb

–noun

1.	a person of abnormally small stature owing to a pathological condition, esp. one suffering from cretinism or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.

2.	an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.

3.	(in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen and ugly, man, usually having magic powers.

4.	Astronomy. dwarf star.

–adjective

5.	of unusually small stature or size; diminutive.

–verb (used with object)

6.	to cause to appear or seem small in size, extent, character, etc., as by being much larger or better: He dwarfed all his rivals in athletic ability.

7.	to make dwarf or dwarfish; prevent the due development of.

–verb (used without object)

8.	to become stunted or smaller.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME dwerf, OE dweorh; r. ME dwerg, OE dweorg; c. OHG twerg, ON dvergr

Related forms:

dwarflike, adjective

dwarfness, noun

Synonyms:
1. Dwarf, midget, pygmy are terms for a very small person. A dwarf is someone checked in growth or stunted, or in some way not normally formed. A midget (not in technical use) is someone perfect in form and normal in function, but diminutive. A pygmy is properly a member of one of certain small-sized peoples of Africa and Asia, but the word is often used imprecisely to mean dwarf or midget. Dwarf is a term often used to describe very small plants. Pygmy is used to describe very small animals. 2. runt, miniature.

Antonyms:
1, 5. giant.

dwarf star

–noun Astronomy.

any of the ordinary main sequence stars, as those of spectral types O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.

Also called dwarf.

Compare white dwarf.

Origin:
1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To dwarf

dwarf (dwôrf)

n. pl. dwarfs or dwarves (dwôrvz)

1. An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.
2. An atypically small animal or plant.
A small creature resembling a human, often ugly, appearing in legends and fairy tales.
A dwarf star.

v. dwarfed, dwarf·ing, dwarfs

v. tr.

To check the natural growth or development of; stunt: "The oaks were dwarfed from lack of moisture" (John Steinbeck).
To cause to appear small by comparison: "Together these two big men dwarfed the tiny Broadway office" (Saul Bellow).

v. intr.
To become stunted or grow smaller.

[Middle English dwerf, from Old English dweorh.]
dwarf'ish adj., dwarf'ish·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dwarf

Dwarf\, n.; pl. Dwarfs. [OE. dwergh, dwerf, dwarf, AS. dweorg, dweorh; akin to D. dwerg, MHG. twerc, G. zwerg, Icel. dvergr, Sw. & Dan. dverg; of unknown origin.] An animal or plant which is much below the ordinary size of its species or kind; especially, a diminutive human being.

Note: During the Middle Ages dwarfs as well as fools shared the favor of courts and the nobility.

Note: Dwarf is used adjectively in reference to anything much below the usual or normal size; as, dwarf tree; dwarf honeysuckle.

Dwarf elder (Bot.), danewort.

Dwarf wall (Arch.), a low wall, not as high as the story of a building, often used as a garden wall or fence. --Gwilt.

Dwarf

Dwarf\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dwarfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dwarfing.] To hinder from growing to the natural size; to make or keep small; to stunt. --Addison.

Even the most common moral ideas and affections . . . would be stunted and dwarfed, if cut off from a spiritual background. --J. C. Shairp.

Dwarf

Dwarf\, v. i. To become small; to diminish in size.

Strange power of the world that, the moment we enter it, our great conceptions dwarf. --Beaconsfield.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : dwarf

Spanish: enano,

German: der, *die Zwerg(in),

Japanese: わい小動植物

More Translations »

dwarf

O.E. dweorh, from P.Gmc. *dweraz, from PIE *dhwergwhos "something tiny." The mythological sense is from Ger., 1770. The verb meaning "to render dwarfish" is from 1626; that of "to cause to look small" is from 1850. The shift of the O.E. guttural at the end of the word to modern -f is typical (cf. enough, draft); O.E. pl. dweorgas became M.E. dwarrows, later leveled down to dwarfs. The use of dwarves for the legendary race is an innovation of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Dwarf

A name given to a pool of mortgage-backed securities, issued by Fannie Mae, with a maturity of 15 years.

Investopedia Commentary

Fannie Mae is short for Federal National Mortgage Association.

Main Entry: ¹dwarf
Pronunciation: 'dwo(&)rf
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural dwarfs /'dwo(&)rfs/ also dwarves /'dwo(&)rvz/
often attributive 1 : a person of unusually small stature; especially : one whose bodily proportions are abnormal
2 : an animal much below normal size

Main Entry: ²dwarf
Function: transitive verb
: to restrict the growth of dwarfed by malnutrition>

dwarf (dwôrf)
n. pl. dwarfs or dwarves (dwôrvz)
An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features not properly proportioned or formed.

dwarf (dwôrf) Pronunciation Key

An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.
An atypically small animal or plant.
A dwarf star or dwarf galaxy.

Dwarf

a lean or emaciated person (Lev. 21:20).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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