noun
gnome
NOHM
noun
1
A small, legendary earth-dwelling being, often shown as an old bearded man, said to guard underground treasure or mines.
"In the story, a gnome guarded the entrance to the underground cavern."
2
A small ornamental statue of such a figure, often placed in a garden.
"A ceramic gnome stood next to the flowerbed."
3
Informal: a secretive, powerful figure in international banking or finance.
"Journalists joked about the "gnomes" who quietly control the bond markets."
How to Use Gnome
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA mythical little bearded earth-creature, or the garden ornament shaped like one.
Common pairings
garden gnome
a gnome in fantasy fiction
Word Forms
GNOME'ed past tense, gnomes plural, gnomae plural, gnomai plural, gnomes plural, GNOME's singular
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In the story, a _____ guarded the entrance to the underground cavern.
Etymology
From French gnome, coined in New Latin by the Renaissance physician Paracelsus as another word for a pygmy-like earth spirit.