Adjacent Words

Dwarf definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DWARF, n.
1. A general name for an animal or plant which is much below the ordinary size of the species or kind. A man that never grows beyond two or three feet in highth, is a dwarf. This word when used alone usually refers to the human species, but sometimes to other animals. When it is applied to plants, it is more generally used in composition; as a dwarf-tree; dwarf-elder.
2. An attendant on a lady or knight in romances.
DWARF, v.t. To hinder from growing to the natural size; to lessen; to make or keep small.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a person who is markedly small [syn: dwarf, midget, nanus]
2: a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure [syn: gnome, dwarf]
3: a plant or animal that is atypically small v
1: make appear small by comparison; "This year's debt dwarfs that of last year" [syn: shadow, overshadow, dwarf]
2: check the growth of; "the lack of sunlight dwarfed these pines"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural dwarfs; also dwarves) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English dwerg, dwerf, from Old English dweorg, dweorh; akin to Old High German twerg dwarf Date: before 12th century 1. a. a person of unusually small stature; especially one whose bodily proportions are abnormal b. an insignificant person <a literary dwarf> 2. an animal or plant much below normal size 3. a small legendary manlike being who is usually misshapen and ugly and skilled as a craftsman 4. a star (as the sun) of ordinary or low luminosity and relatively small mass and size • dwarfish adjective • dwarfishly adverb • dwarfishness noun • dwarflike adjective • dwarfness noun II. verb Date: circa 1626 transitive verb 1. to restrict the growth of ; stunt 2. to cause to appear smaller or to seem inferior <has dwarfed the achievements of her predecessors> intransitive verb to become smaller III. adjective Date: 1597 of a plant low-growing in habit <dwarfer forms of citrus>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (pl. dwarfs or dwarves) 1 a a person of abnormally small stature, esp. one with a normal-sized head and body but short limbs. Usage: The term person of restricted growth is now often preferred. b an animal or plant much below the ordinary size for the species. 2 a small mythological being with supernatural powers. 3 (in full dwarf star) a small usu. dense star. 4 (attrib.) a of a kind very small in size (dwarf bean). b puny, stunted. --v.tr. 1 stunt in growth. 2 cause (something similar or comparable) to seem small or insignificant (efforts dwarfed by their rivals' achievements). Derivatives: dwarfish adj. Etymology: OE dweorg f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dwarfs, or dwarves, dwarfs, dwarfing, dwarfed) 1. If one person or thing is dwarfed by another, the second is so much bigger than the first that it makes them look very small. His figure is dwarfed by the huge red McDonald's sign... The US air travel market dwarfs that of Britain. VERB: be V-ed, V n 2. Dwarf is used to describe varieties or species of plants and animals which are much smaller than the usual size for their kind. ...dwarf shrubs. ADJ: ADJ n 3. In children's stories, a dwarf is an imaginary creature that is like a small man. Dwarfs often have magical powers. N-COUNT 4. In former times, people who were much smaller than normal were called dwarfs. (OFFENSIVE, OLD-FASHIONED) N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

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

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dworf:

The rendering in English Versions of the Bible of the Hebrew word dak, "thin," "small," in Le 21:20, where a list is given of physical failings which forbade man of the seed of Aaron to officiate at the altar, though he might partake of the sacrificial gifts. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word here is uncertain; elsewhere it is used of the lean kine (Ge 41:3) and blasted ears (verse 23) of Pharaoh's dream; of the grains of manna (Ex 16:14), of the still, small voice (1Ki 19:12), of dust (Isa 29:5), etc. Septuagint and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) suggest defective eyes; but "withered" would perhaps best express the meaning. See PRIESTS AND LEVITES.

F. K. Farr

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Pygmy, hop o'my thumb. II. v. a. Stunt, hinder from growth.

Moby Thesaurus

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