Dwarf (pronounced dwawrf)
(1) A
person of abnormally small stature owing to a pathological condition,
especially one suffering from cretinism or some other disease that produces
disproportion or deformation of features and limbs. In human pathology, dwarfism is usually
defined, inter-alia, as an adult height less than 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in).
(2) In
zoology & botany, an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its
kind or species.
(3) In European
folklore, a being in the form of a small, often misshapen and ugly, man,
usually having magic powers.
(4) In
Norse mythology, 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.
(5) In
astronomy, a small version of a celestial body (planet, moon, galaxy, star etc).
(6) Of unusually
small stature or size; diminutive; to become stunted or smaller.
Pre 900:
From the Middle English dwerf, dwergh,
dwerw & dwerȝ, from
the Old English dweorh & dweorg (dwarf),
replacing the Middle English dwerg and
ultimately from the Proto-Germanic dwergaz. It was
cognate with the Scots dwerch,
the Old High German twerg & twerc (German Zwerg), the Old Norse dvergr
(Swedish dvärg), the Old Frisian dwirg (West Frisian dwerch), the Middle
Low German dwerch, dwarch & twerg (German & Low German Dwarg & Dwarch) and the Middle Dutch dwerch
& dworch (Dutch dwerg).
The Modern English noun has undergone complex phonetic changes. The form
dwarf is the regular continuation of Old English dweorg, but the plural dweorgas
gave rise to dwarrows and the oblique
stem dweorge which led to dwery, forms sometimes found as the
nominative singular in Middle English texts and in English dialects. Dwarf is a noun and verb, dwarfness & dwarfishness
are nouns, dwarfish & dwarflike are adjectives and dwarfishly is an adverb. The plural forms are dwarves and dwarfs. Dwarfs was long the common plural in English
but after JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) used dwarves, his influence was enough to
become the standard plural form for mythological beings. For purposes non-mythological, dwarfs remains
the preferred form.
The M
Word
1970 MG Midget.
Dwarf seems still to be an acceptable term to describe those with dwarfism
and Little People of America (LPA), the world’s oldest and largest dwarfism
support organization (which maintains an international, membership-based
organization for people with dwarfism and their families) has long campaigned
to abolish the use of the word “midget” in the context of short humans. The objection to midget is associative. It was never part of the language of medicine
and it was never adopted as official term to identify people with dwarfism, but
was used to label used those of short stature who were on public display for
curiosity and sport, most notoriously in the so-called “freak shows”. Calling people “midgets” is thus regarded as derogatory. Midget remains an apparently acceptable word to
use in a historic context (midget submarine, MG Midget et al) or to describe machinery
(midget car racing; the Midget Mustang aerobatic sports airplane) but no new adoptions
have been registered in recent years. The
LPA is also reporting some supportive gestures, noting with approval the
decision of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the US Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) to revise the nomenclature used in the US standards for grades
of processed raisins by removing five references to the term “midget”. Although obviously a historically benign use
of the word, its removal was a welcome display of cultural sensitivity.
An
interesting outlier however is midget wrestling, a field in which the
participants are said enthusiastically to support the label, citing its long
traditions and the marketing value of the brand. Although in the late twentieth century,
midget wrestling’s popularity diminished in the last decade there’s be a resurgence
of interest and the sport is now a noted content provider for the streaming
platforms which run live and recorded footage. Since the 1970s, midget wrestling has included
styles other than the purely technical form with routines extending from choreographed
parody and slapstick performances to simulated sexual assault. These innovations have attracted criticism and
the suggesting it’s a return to the freak shows of earlier centuries but
audiences in the target demographic seem appreciative and, noting the success
of a number of tours and operators, Major League Wrestling in 2022 announced
the creation of a midget division.
The short stature of Victor Emmanuel III (1869–1947; King of Italy 1900-1946) with (left to right), with Aimone of Savoy, King of Croatia (Rome, 1943), with Albert I, King of the Belgians (France, 1915), with his wife, Princess Elena of Montenegro (Rome 1937) & with Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945), observing navy manoeuvres (Gulf of Naples, 1938). Note his sometimes DPRKesque hats.
Technically, Victor Emmanuel didn’t fit the definition of dwarfism which sets a threshold of adult height at 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m), the king about 2 inches (50 mm) taller (or less short) and it’s thought the inbreeding not uncommon among European royalty might have been a factor, both his parents and grandparents being first cousins. However, although not technically a dwarf, that didn’t stop his detractors in Italy’s fascist government calling him (behind his back) il nano (the dwarf), a habit soon picked up the Nazis as der Zwerg (the dwarf) (although Hermann Göring was said to have preferred der Pygmäe (the pygmy)). In court circles he was know also, apparently affectionately as la piccola sciabola (the little sabre) a nickname actually literal in origin because the royal swordsmith had to forge a ceremonial sabre with an unusually short blade for the diminutive sovereign to wear with his many military uniforms. His French-speaking Montenegrin wife stood a statuesque six feet (1.8 m) tall and always called him mon petit roi (my little king). It was a long and happy marriage and genetically helpful too, his son and successor (who enjoyed only a brief reign) very much taller although his was to be a tortured existence. Still, in his unhappiness he stood tall and that would have been appreciated by the late Duke of Edinburgh who initially approved of the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer (1960-1997) to the Prince of Wales (b 1948) on the basis that she “would breed some height into the line”.
In cosmology, the word dwarf is applied to especially small versions of celestial bodies. A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy of between several hundred and several billion stars, (the Milky Way may have as many as billion) and astronomers have identified many sub-types of dwarf galaxies, based on shape and composition. A dwarf planet is a small, planetary-mass object is in direct orbit of a star, smaller than any of the eight classical planets but still a world in its own right. Best-known dwarf planet is now Pluto which used to be a planet proper but was in 2006 unfortunately down-graded by the humorless types at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) who are in charge of such things. It’s hoped one day this decision will be reversed so Pluto will again be classified a planet. Dwarf planets are of interest to planetary geologists because despite their size, they may be geologically active bodies. The term dwarf star was coined when it was realized the reddest stars could be classified as brighter or dimmer than our sun and they were created the categories “giant star” (brighter) and dwarf star (dimmer). As observational astronomy improved, the
With
the development of infrared astronomy there were refinements to the model to
include (1) the dwarf star (the “generic” main-sequence star), (2) the red
dwarf (low-mass main-sequence star), (3) the yellow dwarfs are (main-sequence stars
with masses comparable to that of the Sun, (4) the orange dwarf (between a red
dwarf and yellow/white stars), (5) the controversial blue dwarf which is a hypothesized
class of very-low-mass stars that increase in temperature as they near the end
of their main-sequence lifetime, (6) the white dwarf which is the remains of a
dead star, composed of electron-degenerate matter and thought to be the final
stage in the evolution of stars not massive enough to collapse into a neutron
star or black hole, (7) the black dwarf which is theorized as a white dwarf
that has cooled to the point it no longer emits visible light (it’s thought the
universe is not old enough for any white dwarf to have yet cooled to black
& (8) the brown dwarf, a sub-stellar object not massive enough to ever fuse
hydrogen into helium, but still massive enough to fuse deuterium.
Coolest
dwarf of all is (9) the ultra-cool dwarf (first defined in 1997), somewhat
deceptively named for non cosmologists given the effective temperature can be
as high as 2,700 K (2,430°C; 4,400°F); in space, everything is relative. Because of their slow hydrogen fusion
compared to other types of low-mass stars, their life spans are estimated at
several hundred billion years, with the smallest lasting for about 12 trillion
years. As the age of the universe is thought
to be only 13.8 billion years, all ultra-cool dwarf stars are relatively young
and models predict that at the ends of their lives the smallest of these stars
will become blue dwarfs instead of expanding into red giants.
The events towards the conclusion of the nineteenth century German fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs make ideal reading for young children. Her evil step-mother has apparently killed poor Snow White so the seven disappointed dwarfs lay her body in a glass coffin. The very next, a handsome prince happens upon the dwarfs’ house in the forest and is so captivated by her beauty he asks to take her body back to his castle. To this the dwarfs agree but while on the journey, a slight jolt makes Snow White come to life and the prince, hopelessly in love, proposes and Snow White accepts. Back at the palace, the prince invites to the wedding all in the land except Snow White's evil stepmother.
Another sleeping beauty: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The
step-mother however crashes the wedding and discovers the beautiful Snow White
is the bride. Enraged, she attempts again
to kill her, but the prince protects her and, learning the truth from his
bride, forces step-mother to wear a pair of red-hot iron slippers and to dance in
them until she drops dead. That takes not
long and once she drops dead, the wedding ceremony resumes. The prince and Snow White live happily ever
after.
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)
The condition achondroplasiaphobia describes those with a “fear of little people". The construct is achondroplasia (the Latin a- (not) + the Ancient Greek chondro- (cartilage) + the New Latin -plasia (growth); the genetic disorder that causes dwarfism) + phobia (from the New Latin, from the Classical Latin, from the Ancient Greek -φοβία (-phobía) from φόβος (phóbos) (fear). The condition, at least to the extent of being clinically significant, is thought rare and like many of the especially irrational phobias is induced either by (1) a traumatic experience, (2) depictions in popular culture or (3) reasons unknown. Achondroplasiaphobia has never appeared in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In 2006, it was reported that while dining at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, after noticing two people of short stature had entered the restaurant, Lindsay Lohan suffered an "anxiety attack" and hyperventilated to the extent she had to take "an anti-anxiety pill" to calm down. To her companions she repeatedly said "I’m so scared of them!" A spokesperson for the LPA responded by suggesting Ms Lohan should "...treat her fear the same as she would a fear of any other protected minority population. If that fails, she might find diversity training to be useful." Almost immediately the story appeared, a representative for Ms Lohan debunked the story, saying she is not achondroplasiaphobia and is not scared of little people, adding "Lindsay loves all people."
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