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The Modern English noun has undergone complex phonetic changes. The form dwarf is the regular continuation of Old English dweorg, but the plural dweorgas would have given rise to dwarrows and the oblique stem dweorge- would have led to dwery. These forms are sometimes found as the nominative singular in Middle English texts and in English dialects. A parallel case is that of Old English burg giving burgh, borough, burrow, bury.
(mythology) Any member of a race of beings from (especially Scandinavian and other Germanic) folklore, usually depicted as having some sort of supernatural powers and being skilled in crafting and metalworking, often as short with long beards, and sometimes as clashing with elves.
2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 20:
Nidavellir, which is sometimes called Svartalfheim, where the dwarfs (who are also known as dark elves) live beneath the mountains and build their remarkable creations.
At first, dwarfs was the common plural in English, and dwarves was considered incorrect.[1] After J. R. R. Tolkien used dwarves in his works, that form became the standard for the plural of the mythological beings. For a non-mythological dwarf (people with dwarfism, small plants, animals, planets, stars, etc.), dwarfs has remained the preferred plural form. The use of dwarf to describe people with dwarfism is currently considered to be offensive by some.
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(transitive) To make appear (much) smaller, puny, tiny; to be much larger than.
The newly-built skyscraper dwarfs all older buildings in the downtown skyline.
1960 April, J. P. Wilson, E. N. C. Haywood, “The route through the Peak - Derby to Manchester: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 225:
The train bursts from Rusher Cutting Tunnel with explosive violence, the engine's exhaust soaring high into the air, but dwarfed by the mighty limestone cliffs on either side.
In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.
How are the following nouns improperly formed, and what should they be? viz.—Lifes, knifes, dwarves, mischieves—boxs, churchs, dishs, fishs—enemys, flys, skys, spys—louses, mouses, oxes, pennys—arcanums, datums, erratums, phænomenons—bacheloress, benefactoress, governoress—boys books, girls dolls, childs rattle—diligence sake; Jane’s, Margaret’s, and Isabella’s mother; John’s, Peter’s, and Frank’s books.