Editing Dwarf (folklore) (section)

=== 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}}