Sententious saying for one of the little folk (5)

I believe the answer is:

gnome

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'sententious saying' is the definition.
'gnome' can be an answer for 'saying' (gnome is a kind of saying). I'm unsure of the 'sententious' bit.

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gnome that I've seen before include "Goblin" , "little chap fishing in the garden" , "Maxim" , "Dwarf (found in garden?)" , "Fairytale dwarf, often in garden" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.

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