gnome Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure
    dwarf.
  2. noun a short pithy saying expressing a general truth

WordNet

Gnome noun
Etymology
F. gnome, prob. fr. Gr. one that knows, a guardian, i. e., of the treasures in the inner parts of the earth, or fr. intelligence, both fr. , , to know. See Know.
Definitions
  1. An imaginary being, supposed by the Rosicrucians to inhabit the inner parts of the earth, and to be the guardian of mines, quarries, etc.
  2. A dwarf; a goblin; a person of small stature or misshapen features, or of strange appearance.
  3. (Zoöl.) A small owl (Glaucidium gnoma) of the Western United States.
  4. Gr. . A brief reflection or maxim. Peacham.

Webster 1913