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A gnome is a legendary creature characterized by its very small size and subterranean lifestyle. The word gnome is derived from the New Latin gnomus. It is often claimed to descend from the Greek gnosis, "knowledge", but more likely comes from genomos "earth-dweller"

From the "World of Kitsch," we find this definition: Several definitions have been offered to describe kitsch: 1. kitsch kich, n. trash: work in any of the arts that is pretentious and inferior or in bad taste. --adj. kitsch'y. --adv. kitsch'ly. [Ger] Definition from Chambers dictionary 2. kitsch kich noun. trash; art, literature, fashion, etc dismissed as being of merely popular taste or appeal, vulgar, sentimental or sometimes pretentious. Also adjective. kitsch'ily adverb. kitsch'y adjective. [German] Definition from Larousse plc. Away in a manger... Click image to enlarge in new window. 3. kitsch In the arts, anything that claims to have an aesthetic purpose but is tawdry and tasteless. It usually applies to cheap sentimental works produced for the mass market, such as those found in souvenir shops and chain stores, but it is also used for any art that is considered in bad taste. Definition from Helicon Publishing Ltd. 4. kitsch Derived from the German verkitschen etwas, kitsch means to 'knock something off'. Today it is synonymous with objects of bad taste that are so bad they're good in an ironic way. In the fifties and sixties kitsch was - and still is - highly collectable. Kitsch can be anything from flying ducks to Tretchikoff paintings and Elvis toilet roll holders. Definition from BBC News Online.