bedwarf

English

Etymology

be- +‎ dwarf

Verb

bedwarf (third-person singular simple present bedwarfs, present participle bedwarfing, simple past and past participle bedwarfed)

1. (archaic, transitive) To make a dwarf of; to stunt or hinder the growth of; to dwarf.
   • a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “(please specify the title)”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC:

     Tis shrinking, not close weaving, that hath thus In mind and body both bedwarfed us.