dwarf. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

dwarf

PRONUNCIATION:	dwôrf
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. dwarfs or dwarves ( dwôrvz) 1a. An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed. b. An atypically small animal or plant. 2. A small creature resembling a human, often ugly, appearing in legends and fairy tales. 3. A dwarf star.
VERB:	Inflected forms: dwarfed, dwarf·ing, dwarfs
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To check the natural growth or development of; stunt: “The oaks were dwarfed from lack of moisture” (John Steinbeck). 2. To cause to appear small by comparison: “Together these two big men dwarfed the tiny Broadway office” (Saul Bellow).
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To become stunted or grow smaller.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English dwerf, from Old English dweorh.
OTHER FORMS:	dwarfish —ADJECTIVE dwarfish·ness —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.