noun pl. dwarfs or dwarves
- any human being, animal, or plant that is much smaller than the usual one of its species
- Folklore a little being in human form, usually ugly or malformed, to whom magic powers are attributed
- a star of relatively small size or mass and low luminosity
Origin:
ME dwerf, dwergh < OE dweorg, akin to Ger zwerg < IE *dhwergh-, prob. < base *dhwer-, to trick, injure > Sans dhvarati, (he) injures
intransitive verb
to become stunted or dwarfed