Synonyms for dwarf

Grammar : Adj, noun, verb

Spell : dwawrf

Phonetic Transcription : dwɔrf

Top 10 synonyms for dwarf

Other synonyms for the word dwarf

Définition of dwarf

Origin : Old English dweorh, dweorg (West Saxon), duerg (Mercian), "very short human being," from Proto-Germanic *dweraz (cf. Old Frisian dwerch, Old Saxon dwerg, Old High German twerg, German Zwerg, Old Norse dvergr), perhaps from PIE *dhwergwhos "something tiny," but with no established cognates outside Germanic. The mythological sense is 1770, from German (it seems never to have developed independently in English).
Whilst in this and other ways the dwarfs do at times have dealings with mankind, yet on the whole they seem to shrink from man; they give the impression of a downtrodden afflicted race, which is on the point of abandoning its ancient home to new and more powerful invaders. There is stamped on their character something shy and something heathenish, which estranges them from intercourse with christians. They chafe at human faithlessness, which no doubt would primarily mean the apostacy from heathenism. In the poems of the Mid. Ages, Laurin is expressly set before us as a heathen. It goes sorely against the dwarfs to see churches built, bell-ringing ... disturbs their ancient privacy; they also hate the clearing of forests, agriculture, new fangled pounding-machinery for ore. ["Teutonic Mythology," Jacob Grimm, transl. Stallybrass, 1883]
The shift of the Old English guttural at the end of the word to modern -f is typical (cf. enough, draft). Old English plural dweorgas became Middle English dwarrows, later leveled down to dwarfs. The use of dwarves for the legendary race was popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien. As an adjective, from 1590s.

adj miniature, tiny
noun very small person
verb minimize

Example sentences :

But then the Pasteur was short, and his brother was a dwarf.
Extract from : « Malbone » by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

To expect less is to get less, since it is to dwarf my own power of receiving.
Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King

While Alberich boasted, he was planning how he might trick the dwarf and take his gold.
Extract from : « Opera Stories from Wagner » by Florence Akin

But Wotan drew the ring from the dwarf's finger, then set him free.
Extract from : « Opera Stories from Wagner » by Florence Akin

I simply adore them, and I should have liked to have a dwarf elephant.
Extract from : « My Double Life » by Sarah Bernhardt

"You should have said, short as a dwarf," returned Jacques Two.
Extract from : « A Tale of Two Cities » by Charles Dickens

Sometimes he'll be half as tall as a church steeple, and sometimes no bigger than a dwarf.
Extract from : « Barnaby Rudge » by Charles Dickens

These are of dwarf habit, but have blossoms of the largest size.
Extract from : « The Mayflower, January, 1905 » by Various

He seemed to tower above the table and dwarf the whole room.
Extract from : « Jan and Her Job » by L. Allen Harker

He did his part to purge the veins of men of the subtle poisons which dwarf them.
Extract from : « Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle » by H. N. Brailsford

Antonyms for dwarf

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019