noun a brief reflection or maxim.
2. gnome ·noun a small owl (glaucidium gnoma) of the western united states.
3. gnome ·noun a dwarf; a goblin; a person of small stature or misshapen features, or of strange appearance.
4. gnome ·noun an imaginary being, supposed by the rosicrucians to inhabit the inner parts of the earth, and to be the guardian of mines, quarries, ·etc.