Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
gnomish

gnomish

1 9.9
Small and odd in a way that looks like a tiny magical creature with a long beard
  • adjective
  • /ˈnoʊmɪʃ/
  • Literature
translation icon : gnómico
  • Sounds gnomish, a fairy ring of mushrooms.
  • gnomish figure
  • gnomish man

Examples

  • "Eliza?" There were days when Eliza seemed almost gnomish, and this was one of them.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • "Used to be, rich folks liked to wear gnomish crap like this.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • But be warned, the bridge is protected by an ancient Gnomish trap.

    Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

  • I feel OK in my, my gnomish like stature.

  • Gnomes are neither here nor there; good and evil don't matter much to gnomish culture.

    Blog text (6)

  • First, more about Margot: she was tiny like me, but not gnomish, better proportioned.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The gnomish creature peeked out from behind the tree, its small frame almost hidden in the underbrush.

  • With his gnomish face and pointed hat, he resembled the mythical beings from the old stories.

  • The artist depicted a gnomish garden filled with whimsical plants and tiny houses.

Synonyms

gnomelike
vsgnomish
  • Literature
9.2

Looking or acting like a small, magic creature with a pointed hat

emphasizes small, often misshapen physical features and a stronger fantastical quality

How Gnome-like

gnomish
  • Literature
1 9.9
gnomelike
  • Literature
9.2

Surface Forms

gnomish positive

Morphology

gnomish = gnome (transparent) = gnome + ish

The adjective is formed by adding the productive suffix '-ish' to 'gnome', yielding 'resembling or characteristic of a gnome', which is directly derivable.

Etymology

Gnomish comes from gnome, the small, often bearded creature in stories, and the ending -ish meaning 'like'. So to be gnomish is to be 'like a gnome', small, odd, and a little magical.