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gnome1 definition

gnome (nōm)

noun

Folklore any of a race of small, misshapen, dwarflike beings, supposed to dwell in the earth and guard its treasures

Etymology: Fr < ModL gnomus < Gr gnōmē (see gnome): so called by Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus, prob. from the belief that gnomes had occult knowledge of the earth

Related Forms:

gnome2 definition

gnome (nōm, nō′mē)

noun

a wise, pithy saying; maxim

Etymology: LL, a sentence, maxim < Gr gnōmē, thought, judgment, intelligence < gignōskein, to know

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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