unano
unáno with stress marks
dwarf; midget
Usage Note
Unano is borrowed from Spanish 'enano' and refers to a person of very short stature. In Filipino folk culture it also names a small dwarf-like nature spirit associated with trees, akin to the duwende, a dual meaning that surfaces often in traditional stories and rural folklore.
Examples
" Maliit ang unano sa kuwento. "
Natural Translation
The dwarf in the story is small.
Literal Translation
Small the dwarf in story.
" Naniniwala ang mga matatanda na may unano na nakatira sa punong iyon. "
Natural Translation
The elders believe that a dwarf spirit lives in that tree.
Literal Translation
Believe the elders that has dwarf that living-in the tree that.
" Ayon sa mga matatanda, may unano umanong naninirahan sa lumang puno sa tabi ng ilog. "
Natural Translation
According to the elders, a dwarf spirit supposedly lives in the old tree beside the river.
Literal Translation
According to the elders, has dwarf supposedly living in old tree at side of river.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
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