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Rumpelstiltskin

[ ruhm-puhl-stilt-skin ]
/ ˌrʌm pəlˈstɪlt skɪn /

noun

a dwarf in a German folktale who spins flax into gold for a young woman to meet the demands of the prince she has married, on the condition that she give him her first child or else guess his name: she guesses his name and he vanishes or destroys himself in a rage.

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Words nearby Rumpelstiltskin

rummy, rumor, rumormonger, rumour, rump, Rumpelstiltskin, rumpf, rumple, rumply, rumpo, Rump Parliament
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for Rumpelstiltskin

British Dictionary definitions for Rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin
/ (ˌrʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn) /

noun

a dwarf in a German folktale who aids the king's bride on condition that she give him her first child or guess the dwarf's name. She guesses correctly and in his rage he destroys himself
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Rumpelstiltskin

“Rumpelstiltskin”

A fairy tale from the collection of the brothers Grimm. The title character, a dwarf, tells a woman who has promised him her first-born child that he will not hold her to her promise if she can guess his name. She finds it out, and Rumpelstiltskin, furious, destroys himself.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.