Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

gnome

 - 7 dictionary results
Buy The Traveloctiy Gnome
Shop As Seen On TV Home & Garden Products. Money Back Guarantee
www.TaylorGifts.com
Garden Gnome
Find Garden Gnome at Target. Shop and Save at Target.com.
www.Target.com
Buy Gnome
Get Your Garden Private-Offer Gnome on Sale
Private-Offer.com

gnome

1  [nohm]
–noun
1. (in folklore) one of a species of diminutive beings, usually described as shriveled little old men, that inhabit the interior of the earth and act as guardians of its treasures; troll.
2. an expert in monetary or financial affairs; international banker or financier: the gnomes of Zurich.
Use gnome in a Sentence
Origin:
1705–15; < F < NL gnomus, perh. < Gk gnmē; see gnome 2

Related forms:
gnomish, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See goblin, sylph.
Buy The Traveloctiy Gnome
Shop As Seen On TV Home & Garden Products. Money Back Guarantee
www.TaylorGifts.com
Garden Gnome
Find Garden Gnome at Target. Shop and Save at Target.com.
www.Target.com

gnome

2  [nohm, noh-mee]
–noun
a short, pithy expression of a general truth; aphorism.
Origin:
1570–80; < Gk gnmē judgment, opinion, purpose
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To gnome
gnome 1   (nōm)   
n.  

  1. One of a fabled race of dwarflike creatures who live underground and guard treasure hoards.

  2. In the occult philosophy of Paracelsus, a being that has earth as its element.


[French, from New Latin gnomus.]
gnom'ish adj.
gnome 2   (nōm)   
n.  A pithy saying that expresses a general truth or fundamental principle; an aphorism.

[Greek gnōmē, from gignōskein, to know; see gnō- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

gnome 
"dwarf-like earth-dwelling spirit," 1712, from Fr. gnome, from L. gnomus, used 16c. in a treatise by Paracelsus, who gave the name pigmaei or gnomi to elemental earth beings, possibly from Gk. *genomos "earth-dweller." A less-likely suggestion is that Paracelsus based it on the homonym that means "intelligence" (preserved in gnomic). Popular in children's literature 19c. as a name for red-capped Ger. and Swiss folklore dwarfs. Garden figurines first imported to England late 1860s from Germany.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

GNOME
GNU Network Object Model Environment

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

gnome

in European folklore, dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures hidden in the earth. He is represented in medieval mythologies as a small, physically deformed (usually hunchbacked) creature resembling a dry, gnarled old man. Gob, the king of the gnome race, ruled with a magic sword and is said to have influenced the melancholic temperament of man.

Learn more about gnome with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see gnome on Thesaurus | Reference
Buy Gnome
Get Your Garden Private-Offer Gnome on Sale
Private-Offer.com
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori