midget

English

Etymology

Diminutive of midge (from Old English mygg, mycg (“gnat”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) & German Mücke (“midge, gnat”)), using the suffix -et, originally (1865) for a "little sand fly", only around 1869 also a "very small person".

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪdʒɪt

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Portrait of Sebastián de Morra (c. 1645) by Diego Velázquez. The subject of the painting, a midget or dwarf, was a jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain.

midget (plural midgets)

1. (originally) A little sandfly.

   Although tiny and just two-winged, midgets can bite you manyfold till you itch all over your unprotected skin

2. (loosely) Any small swarming insect similar to the mosquito; a midge
3. A normally proportioned person with small stature, usually defined as reaching an adult height less than 4'10". [from later 19th c.]
4. (sometimes derogatory) Any short person.
5. (attributively) That is a small version of something; miniature

   the midget pony

Usage notes

• Used for an insect, this is a variation on midge that is incorrect but commonly used.

Synonyms

• (person below 4'10"): dwarf (loosely)
• (derogatory: any small person): dwarf, short-arse, shortie/shorty, tich/titch, vertically challenged person (humorous)
• (swarming insect): midge
• (miniature): dwarf

Antonyms

• (derogatory: any small person): giant
• (miniature): giant

Translations

person of small stature of adult height less than 4'10"

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: nano (eu), epotx (eu)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 侏儒 (cmn) (zhūrú)

• Czech: trpaslík (cs) m
• Danish: dværg (da)
• Dutch: dwerg (nl)
• Finnish: kääpiö (fi)
• French: nain (fr) m, naine (fr) f

• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Zwerg (de) m, Zwergin (de) f, Liliputaner (de) m, Liliputanerin (de) f
• Italian: nano (it) m, nana (it) f
• Japanese: 小人 (ja) (こびと, kobito), ちび (ja) (chibi), ミゼット (ja) (mizetto)
• Macedonian: џуџе (mk) (džúdže) n, кепец (mk) (képec) m
• Russian: карлик (ru) (kárlik) m
• Spanish: enano (es) m
• Swedish: dvärg (sv) c

derogatory: any short person

• Czech: zakrslík (cs) m
• Danish: gnom, mandsling
• Dutch: dwerg (nl) m
• Finnish: kääpiö (fi), skäfä (fi)
• French: nain (fr) m, naine (fr) f, nabot (fr) m

• German: Zwerg (de) m, Zwergin (de) f
• Italian: nano (it) m, nana (it) f
• Latin: nanus (la) m, nana (la) f
• Macedonian: џуџе (mk) (džúdže) n, кепец (mk) (képec) m
• Swedish: dvärg (sv) c

attributively: that is the small version of something

• Czech: mini- (cs), malý (cs), maličký (cs)
• Danish: dværg-; mini-
• Dutch: dwerg-, mini-
• Finnish: kääpiö-

• German: Zwerg-, mini-/Mini-
• Italian: mini- (it)
• Swedish: dvärg- (sv), mini- (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: enano m

loosely: a midge See midge

References

• “midget” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001). [1]