• vi. 變矮小
• n. 侏儒，矮子
• vt. 使矮小
• adj. 矮小的

可能來自PIE*dhwer, 傷害，欺騙。

dwarf

dwarf: [OE] Dwarf is descended via Germanic *dwergaz from Indo-European *dhwergwhos, which denoted ‘something tiny’. In English, it originally meant simply ‘person of abnormally small stature’; the modern connotation of ‘small manlike creature that lives underground and works metal’, a product of Germanic mythology, is not recorded until the late 18th century. The word’s German relative, zwerg, is the source of English quartz.
=> quartz

dwarf (n.)

Old English dweorh, dweorg (West Saxon), duerg (Mercian), "very short human being," from Proto-Germanic *dweraz (cognates: 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 (compare 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.

dwarf (v.)

"to render dwarfish," 1620s, from dwarf (n.); sense of "to cause to look small" is from 1850. Related: Dwarfed; dwarfing.

1. The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.

那侏儒的長臂與他的身高不成比例.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

2. A dwarf going upstairs getting higher step by step.

矮子上樓梯,步步登高.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

3. He is a dwarf.

他是一個矮子.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

4. 'You should have said, short as a dwarf,'returned Jacques Two.

“ 你應該說'矮得像個侏儒'的. ” 雅克二號插嘴.

來自英漢文學 - 雙城記

5. The nova phenomenon generally occurs in a binary system that has as one member a very hot white dwarf.

新星這種現象一般發生在雙星系統中，其中一顆子星是非常熱的白矮星。

來自辭典例句