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 ]

☞ 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 ]

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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dwarfed p. pr. & vb. n. Dwarfing. ] To hinder from growing to the natural size; to make or keep small; to stunt. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Even the most common moral ideas and affections . . . would be stunted and dwarfed, if cut off from a spiritual background. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become small; to diminish in size. [ 1913 Webster ]

Strange power of the world that, the moment we enter it, our great conceptions dwarf. Beaconsfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Like a dwarf; below the common stature or size; very small; petty; as, a dwarfish animal, shrub. -- Dwarf"ish*ly, adv. -- Dwarf"ish*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]