From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Dwarf \Dwarf\, n.; pl. {Dwarfs}. [OE. dwergh, dwerf, dwarf, AS.
dweorg, dweorh; akin to D. dwerg, MHG. twerc, G. zwerg, Icel.
dvergr, Sw. & Dan. dverg; of unknown origin.]
1. An animal or plant which is much below the ordinary size
of its species or kind.
[1913 Webster]
2. Especially: A diminutive human being, small in stature due
to a pathological condition which causes a distortion of
the proportions of body parts to each other, such as the
limbs, torso, and head. A person of unusually small height
who has normal body proportions is usually called a
{midget}.
[PJC]
Note: During the Middle Ages dwarfs as well as fools shared
the favor of courts and the nobility.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Folklore) A small, usually misshapen person, typically a
man, who may have magical powers; mythical dwarves were
often depicted as living underground in caves.
[PJC]
Note: Dwarf is used adjectively in reference to anything much
below the usual or normal size; as, a dwarf pear tree;
dwarf honeysuckle.
[1913 Webster]
{Dwarf elder} (Bot.), danewort.
{Dwarf wall} (Arch.), a low wall, not as high as the story of
a building, often used as a garden wall or fence. --Gwilt.
[1913 Webster]
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