Gnome Was Invented by a Sixteenth-Century Alchemist
A gnome is a small earth-dwelling creature of folklore. The word was coined by Paracelsus, not inherited from ancient myth.
A gnome is a small humanoid creature said to live underground. Unlike most folklore beings, it has a datable inventor: the Swiss alchemist Paracelsus coined *gnomus* in the sixteenth century for the earth-dwelling elemental in his system, alongside sylphs for air, undines for water and salamanders for fire. Garden gnomes and fantasy gnomes all descend from a piece of Renaissance occult theory. A separate *gnome* means a short wise saying, from Greek *gnome*, judgement — the source of *gnomic*.
- A small earth-dweller. *A garden gnome.*
- A short maxim. *An ancient gnome.*
- Gnomic — cryptically brief. *A gnomic remark.*
- Paracelsus — the coiner. *Paracelsus coined it.*
- Sylph, undine, salamander — the other elementals. *The four elementals.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gnome | A gnome. |
| Plural | gnomes | Garden gnomes. |
| Adjective | gnomic | A gnomic saying. |
| Latin | gnomus | Paracelsus's coinage. |
| Greek | gnome | Judgement. |
- The garden was full of gnomes.Ornaments.
- His answer was typically gnomic.Cryptic.
- Paracelsus named the four elementals.History.
The four elementals of Paracelsus
- Gnome — earth
- Sylph — air
- Undine — water
- Salamander — fire
- All four were coined or repurposed in the sixteenth century
Modern Latin *gnomus*, coined by Paracelsus, possibly from Greek *gnome*, intelligence, or a mistranscription of *genomos*, earth-dweller.
Are gnomes ancient folklore?
The word is not. Paracelsus coined it in the sixteenth century, though it drew on older ideas of earth spirits.
What does gnomic mean?
Expressed in short cryptic sayings, from a different Greek word meaning judgement or maxim.