gnome1
/
nəʊm/
n.
- a legendary dwarfish creature supposed to guard the earth's treasures underground.
- a small garden ornament in the form of a bearded man with a pointed hat.
- informal a person having secret or sinister influence in financial matters:
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the gnomes of Zurich.
Derivative
Etymology
C17: from Fr., from mod. L. gnomus, a word used by the 16th-cent. Swiss physician Paracelsus as a synonym of Pygmaeus (see pygmy).
gnome2
/
nəʊm,
ˈnəʊmi/
n.
a short statement encapsulating a general truth; a maxim.
Etymology
C16: from Gk gnōmē ‘thought, opinion’.
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