English
dwarf
Dwarf comes from Middle English dwergh, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *dwergaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dwergazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dwergreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dweorg
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dwergh
- Englishearliest quotation 1710dwarf
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dwergazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dwergreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dweorg
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dwergh
- Englishearliest quotation 1710dwarf
Earliest quotation: 1710, WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1710: “At present the whole sex is in a manner…”
The story
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.
Linked words
through Middle English dwergh
Today it means
noun 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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *dwergaz / dwarf