Dwarf (folklore)

A dwarf (pl. dwarfs or dwarves) is a type of supernatural short human-shaped being in Germanic folklore. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history. They are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs. However, they are described as having sisters and daughters, while male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short; however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor relevant to their roles in the earliest sources.

Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture, such as in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves.

The modern English noun dwarf descends from Old English: dweorg. It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse dvergr, Old Frisian dwerch, Middle Dutch dwerch, Middle Low German dwerch, and Old High German twerg.

The common Proto-Germanic form is generally reconstructed as *dwergaz. A different etymology traces it to Proto-Germanic *dwezgaz, with the r sound being the product of Verner's Law ^{[clarification needed] [citation needed]}. Linguist Anatoly Liberman connects the Germanic word with Modern English dizzy, suggesting a link between the etymology and their role in inflicting mental diseases on humans, similar to some other supernatural beings in Germanic folklore such as elves.

Before the Proto-Germanic stage, the origin of the word dwarf is highly debated. Scholars in historical linguistics and comparative mythology have suggested that dwarfs may have started out as nature spirits, beings linked to death, or a blend of different concepts. Some theories trace the word to the Proto-Indo-European root *dheur- ('damage'), or to *dhreugh (whence modern English 'dream' and German Trug 'deception'). Scholars have also compared it to the Sanskrit dhvaras, a type of 'demonic being'. Alternatively, linguist Guus Kroonen has suggested that it may derive from a verb *dwerganan ('to squeeze, press'), which might be attested in Middle High German zwergen.

In Old English, the use of dweorg ('dwarf') to designate a mythological being is not conclusively attested, though it is assumed to have existed based on references to an illness attributed to a supernatural being. A related Old English plant name, dweorge-dwostle (pennyroyal), might also suggest a belief in a dwarf-related malady or a connection with warding off the being responsible. Additionally, early place names such as Dueridene (now Dwarriden), Dwerihouse (now Dwerryhouse), and Dwerffehole further hint at the presence of a supernatural concept of dwarfs, often associated with subterranean spaces.

Modern English has two plurals for the word dwarf: dwarfs and dwarves. Dwarfs remains the most commonly employed plural. The minority plural dwarves was recorded as early as 1818. However, it was later popularized by the fiction of philologist and legendarium author J. R. R. Tolkien, originating as a hypercorrective mistake. It was employed by Tolkien for some time before 1917. Regarding his use of this plural, Tolkien wrote in 1937, "I am afraid it is just a piece of private bad grammar, rather shocking in a philologist; but I shall have to go with it."

Scholars have noted that the Svartálfar ('black elves') appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the Prose Edda as the residents of Svartálfaheimr. Another potential synonym is dökkálfar ('dark elves'); however, it is unclear whether svartálfar and dökkálfar were considered the same at the time of the writing of the Prose Edda. The partial overlap of dwarfs in Eddic sources with elves is supported by the names of dwarfs recorded in the Dvergatal section of Völuspá, which include Álfr ('Elf'), Gandálfr ('Wand-elf'), Vindálf ('Wind-elf'). Dvergatal further lists Yngvi – a name of the god Freyr who was given Álfheimr, the home of the elves, to rule according to Grímnismál.