the.com/gnome
a tiny earth-spirit demoted to guarding suburban petunias against absolutely nothing
means A small, often bearded mythological creature of the earth, traditionally a guardian of underground treasure — and nowadays a popular garden ornament; figuratively, a hidden mover of money (as in 'the gnomes of Zurich').
from Coined by the Renaissance alchemist Paracelsus in the 16th century, who named four elemental beings — and assigned 'gnomus' to the earth. The word's deeper roots are murky: it may come from a botched Latin spelling, or possibly from Greek 'gnome' meaning 'knowledge' or 'genomos' meaning 'earth-dweller,' on the idea that these spirits knew where treasure lay buried. Centuries later the lawn-ornament gnome arrived from German folklore's kindly garden helpers, and the financial 'gnomes of Zurich' — secretive Swiss bankers — were so dubbed in the 1960s.
- origin
- coined by alchemist Paracelsus in the 1500s
- travelers
- stolen gnomes get photographed worldwide, then mailed home
- chelsea ban
- famous flower show banned them for decades
- underground
- name may derive from Greek for earth-dweller
- liberation front
- activists once freed gnomes from captive gardens
garden gnome — ceramic figurine tradition originating in 19th century germany, now estimated 25 million in british gardens alone
gnome desktop environment — open-source linux gui created in 1997, used by red hat and fedora distributions
gnome linux — ubuntu's default desktop since 2011, used by millions of linux users globally