In Germanic mythology, a dwarf is a being that dwells in mountains and in the earth, and is variously associated with wisdom, smithing, mining, and crafting. Dwarfs are often also described as short and ugly, although some scholars have questioned whether this is a later development stemming from comical portrayals of the beings.

Dwarfs in folklore are usually described as old men with long beards. Female dwarfs are hardly ever mentioned. The dwarf Dvalinn has daughters and a 14th-century romantic saga, gives a feminine form, but the few folklore examples cited by Grimm in Teutonic Mythology may be identified as other beings. However, in one Swedish ballad, the role of supernatural temptress is played by a dwarf's daughter.

Beyond the Proto-Germanic reconstruction, the etymology of the word dwarf is highly contested. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, scholars have proposed theories about the origins of the being, including that dwarfs may have originated as nature spirits, as beings associated with death, or as a mixture of concepts.