单词 | gnome |
释义 | gnome (once / 3731 pages) 1n 2n Ever seen pictures in children’s books of wizened little trolls with red caps and wrinkled faces? Those are gnomes, imaginary characters popular in fairy tales and folklore. For some reason, they’ve lately become popular as garden statuary. The gnome, a dwarf-like inhabitant of the earth, has long captured the imagination of children and adults alike — witness the popularity of gnome statues in gardens. Appropriately, the word gnome is perhaps (just perhaps!) from gēnomos, an unrecorded Greek word for "earth-dweller." Credit for the word is given to 16th-century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus. The red-capped creatures entered German and Swiss folklore, and in the 19th century became part of children's literature, usually serving as the guardians of various treasures. WORD FAMILYgnome: gnomes, gnomic, gnomish+/gnomic: gnomically USAGE EXAMPLESAnd keep your eyes on that garden gnome. Los Angeles Times(Dec 10, 2016) New or enlarged entitlements always overwhelm projections, because of so-called “woodwork effects” where added benefits draw out people the budget gnomes weren’t expecting. Wall Street Journal(Nov 18, 2016) It’s a little figure of a gnome you can put in a garden. New York Times(Oct 31, 2016) 1 n a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure 2Syn|Hypo|Hyper dwarf Nibelung (German mythology) any of the race of dwarfs who possessed a treasure hoard that was stolen by Siegfried Andvari(Norse mythology) a dwarf who possessed a treasure that was stolen by Loki faerie, faery, fairy, fay, sprite a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers n a short pithy saying expressing a general truth Hypo|Hyper Murphy's Law, Sod's Law humorous axiom stating that anything that can go wrong will go wrong axiom, maxim a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits |
随便看 |
英语词典包含147318条英英释义在线翻译词条,基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法,是英语学习的有利工具。