gnome

== English == === Etymology 1 === From French gnome (“gnome”), from New Latin gnomus, used by Paracelsus as a synonym for pygmaeus (“pygmy”). ==== Pronunciation ==== (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnəʊ̯m/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnoʊ̯m/, /ˈnɔʊ̯m/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈnəʉ̯m/ Rhymes: -əʊm Hyphenation: gnome Homophones: Nome, nome ==== Noun ==== gnome (plural gnomes) (magic, alchemy, Rosicrucianism) An elemental (spirit or corporeal creature associated with a classical element) associated with earth. (mythology, fantasy) 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 smaller than dwarves and more focused on engineering than mining. Coordinate terms: (female) gnomess, gnomette, gnomide (informal, derogatory) A person of a small stature or misshapen features, or of a strange appearance. The mountain pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma, a small owl of the western United States. A small statue of a dwarf-like character, often bearded, placed in a garden. Synonyms: garden gnome, lawn gnome (astronomy, meteorology) An upper atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms, a compact blue starter. (often derogatory) A banker, especially a secretive international one. the gnomes of Zurich 1985, Fodor's, Fodor's ... London, Fodor's For this is a creation of the City, of the country's financial heart, and of the gnomes of London who have financed it and supported it entirely on their own. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== See also ==== kobold salamander (elemental of fire) sylph (elemental of air) undine (elemental of water) === Etymology 2 === From Ancient Greek γνώμη (gnṓmē, “thought, opinion”), from the base of γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to know”). ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /nəʊm/, /nəʊmi/ ==== Noun ==== gnome (plural gnomae or gnomai or gnomes) A brief reflection or maxim; a pithy saying. Synonyms: adage, apothegm, maxim, paroemia, proverb, sententia 1996, Giambattista Vico, Giorgio A. Pinton, Arthur W. Shippee (translators), The Art of Rhetoric, [1711-1741, Giambattista Vico, Institutiones Oratoriae], page 125, The Greeks in their tongue call this second type of maxim noema. The gnome is more appropriate to the philosophers, and the noema to the orators, to the poets, and to the historians. To speak by gnomes alone was referred to by the Greeks as "philosophizing" which we Italians would render as "to mouth maxims" (sputar sentenze). ===== Related terms ===== gnomic gnomometry === References === “gnome”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “gnome”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “gnome”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === Monge, emong == French == === Etymology === From New Latin gnomus, not attested classically. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡnom/ === Noun === gnome m (plural gnomes, feminine gnomide or gnomesse or gnomette) (mythology) gnome ==== Descendants ==== → Danish: gnom → English: gnome → Norwegian Bokmål: gnom → Norwegian Nynorsk: gnom === Further reading === “gnome”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Italian == === Noun === gnome f plural of gnoma == Latin == === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈnɔ.mɛ] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈɲɔː.me] === Noun === gnome vocative singular of gnomus