Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
gnome
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Gnome (lower left) in a mine, woodcut from Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, by Olaus Magnus, 1555
Read Next
Candles Burning On Table In Church
What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?
A mural saluting the actual, and especially folklore, figure Johnny Appleseed in downtown Mansfield, Ohio
Was Johnny Appleseed a Real Person?
African American man praying in church with stained glass in background
Why Do People Say “Amen” at the End of a Prayer?
Stained glass window showing ten Christian saints. St Peters Church, Cound, Shropshire, England.
Too Good to Rot? Saints with Incorrupt Bodies
Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,
Which Religion Is the Oldest?
Discover
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint
8 of the Largest Empires in History
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
Gnome (lower left) in a mine, woodcut from Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, by Olaus Magnus, 1555
Gnome (lower left) in a mine, woodcut from Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, by Olaus Magnus, 1555

gnome

folklore
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/art/gnome
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History

gnome, in European folklore, dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures hidden in the earth. He is represented in medieval mythologies as a small, physically deformed (usually hunchbacked) creature resembling a dry, gnarled old man. Gob, the king of the gnome race, ruled with a magic sword and is said to have influenced the melancholic temperament of man.

The term was popularized through works of the 16th-century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus in which gnomes were described as capable of moving through solid earth as fish move through water.