dwarf English · revision 39719

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English, Épinal Glossary|origins=gem-pro *dwergaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /dwɔɹf/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /dwɔːf/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dwerf]] (also [[m|enm|dwergh]], [[m|enm|dwerew]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966) [[inh|ang|dweorh]] (also [[m|ang|dweorg]], Mercian [[m|ang|duerg]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[inh|gem-pro|*dwergaz]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Orel 2003)^(Köbler Germ) Its cognates are [[ofs|dwerch]], [[osx|gidwerg]], [[goh|twerg]], whence [[de|Zwerg]], and [[non|dvergr]].^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Orel 2003) The modern spelling with ''-f'' reflects the Middle English change of the final guttural sound.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Skeat 1911) Its further origin is unknown,^(OED 2026)^(Orel 2003)^(Klein 1966) and the word has no established cognates outside Germanic.^(Liberman 2008)^(Etymonline) Etymonline mentions a possible source in [[m|ine-pro|*dʰwergʷʰos|t=something tiny]],^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005) and Merriam-Webster compares Sanskrit words for a demon and for bending or injuring;^(MWU 2024) Liberman rejects these and the comparisons with Avestan and Greek words.^(Liberman 2008) According to Liberman, the ''r'' arose from an earlier ''s'' (Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*dwezgaz]]), so that the word shares its root with [[m|ang|dwǣs|t=foolish]] and [[m|dum|dwaes]], whence [[m|nl|dwaas|t=foolish]]: dwarves were at first supernatural beings, like gods and elves, believed to cause madness and disease, and were not originally thought of as small.^(Liberman 2008) German ''Zwerg'' is also, through a dialect form, the source of [[quartz]].^(Ayto 2005)^(Liberman 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who is unusually small, in the Épinal Glossary of about 700;^(OED 2026)^(Liberman 2008)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English ''dweorh'' also named an illness with fever, probably thought to be caused by a supernatural being, as in the Metrical Charm ''Against a Dwarf''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1200, according to Etymonline, the word was also used of an animal or plant much smaller than its kind;^(Etymonline) the OED records this sense from 1593.^(OED 2026) The figurative sense, an inferior or insignificant person or thing, dates from 1575.^(OED 2026) The dwarf of Germanic and especially Scandinavian mythology, a short, stocky being living in rocks and skilled in metalworking, is recorded in English only from 1761, in Thomas Percy;^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005) the Shorter Oxford dates the mythical sense to Middle English.^(SOED 2002) In astronomy ''dwarf'' has named a star of low luminosity and size since 1912.^(OED 2026) The adjective is recorded from 1597,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and the verb, to stunt the growth of, from 1623;^(OED 2026) the sense "to make seem small by comparison" dates from 1745.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In Cheshire dialect ''dwarf'' could mean a deformed person who was not necessarily small, and in Herefordshire and Kent ''dwarf's money'' meant ancient coins found on the coast.^(Wright 1898) The plural ''dwarves'' stands beside ''dwarfs''.^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c700 – Old English ''duerg'', a very small person.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Liberman 2008)

+ * Old English – an illness caused by a supernatural being (until c1200).^(OED 2026)

+ * c1200 – an undersized animal or plant.^(Etymonline)

+ * c1300 – Middle English ''dwerew''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1575 – figurative, an insignificant person or thing.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1597 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1623 – verb, to stunt the growth of.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1745 – verb, to make seem small by comparison.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1761 – the dwarf of Germanic mythology.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1912 – (astronomy) a dwarf star.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (often offensive) A person of unusually short [[stature]], especially one with a medical condition such as [[dwarfism]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An animal or plant much smaller than is usual for its kind.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (folklore) In Germanic and Scandinavian [[myth]], and in fantasy fiction, one of a race of short, stocky beings that live in the mountains and work metals.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (astronomy) A [[dwarf star]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make something seem small or unimportant by comparison: ''The new tower dwarfs the old church beside it.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To stunt the growth or development of.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Much smaller than others of its kind: ''a dwarf apple tree''.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dwarfish]]

+ * [[dwarfishness]]

+ * [[dwarfishly]]

+ * [[dwarflike]]

+ * [[dwarfness]]

+ * [[dwarfism]]

+ * [[semidwarf]]

+ * [[subdwarf]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quartz]]

+ * [[elf]]

+ * [[midget]]

+ * [[pygmy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com distinguishes ''dwarf'', ''midget'' and ''pygmy'': a ''dwarf'' is a person whose growth has been checked, a ''midget'' (not a technical term) a person of normal proportions but very small, and a ''pygmy'' properly a member of certain small-statured peoples of Africa and Asia.^(Dictionary.com 2016) The Shorter Oxford labels the sense "abnormally undersized person" offensive.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}