Editing Dwarf (folklore) (section)

==Etymology and meaning==

=== Etymology ===
The modern English noun ''dwarf'' descends from {{langx|ang|dweorg}}. It has a variety of [[Cognate|cognates]] in other [[Germanic languages]], including [[Old Norse]] ''dvergr'', [[Old Frisian]] ''dwerch'', [[Middle Dutch]] ''dwerch'', [[Middle Low German]] ''dwerch'', and [[Old High German]] ''twerg.{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=81}}''<ref name="OED-ghost2">{{cite OED|dwarf}}</ref>

The common [[Proto-Germanic]] form is generally reconstructed as {{lang|gem-x-proto|dwergaz}}.{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=81}}{{Sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=112}} A different etymology traces it to Proto-Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|*dwezgaz}}, with the ''r'' sound being the product of [[Verner's Law]]. 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]].{{sfn|Liberman|2016|pp=312-314}}

Before the Proto-Germanic stage, the origin of the word ''dwarf'' is highly debated.{{Sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=112}} 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 {{lang|ine-x-proto|*dheur-}} ('damage'), or to {{lang|ine-x-proto|*dhreugh}} (whence modern English 'dream' and German {{lang|de|Trug}} 'deception'). Scholars have also compared it to the [[Sanskrit]] ''{{transliteration|sa|dhvaras}}'', a type of 'demonic being'.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=67-68}} 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''.{{Sfn|Kroonen|2013|p=112}} 

=== English meaning ===
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'' ([[Mentha pulegium|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.<ref name="OED-ghost2" />

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 [[Philology|philologist]] and [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]] author [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], originating as a [[hypercorrection|hypercorrective]] mistake. It was employed by Tolkien for some time before 1917.{{sfn|Gilliver|Marshall|Weiner|2009|pp=104-108}} 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."{{sfn|Gilliver|Marshall|Weiner|2009|pp=104-108}}