midget
English
Etymology
Diminutive of midge (from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English mygg, myċġ (“gnat”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) and German Mücke (“midge, gnat”)), using the suffix -et, originally (1865) for a "little sand fly", only around 1869 also a "very small person".
Pronunciation
Noun
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez_%E2%80%93_El_buf%C3%B3n_el_Primo_%28Museo_del_Prado%2C_1644%29.jpg/170px-Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez_%E2%80%93_El_buf%C3%B3n_el_Primo_%28Museo_del_Prado%2C_1644%29.jpg)
midget (plural midgets)
- (originally) A little sandfly.
- Although tiny and just two-winged, midgets can bite you till you itch all over your unprotected skin.
- (loosely) Any small swarming insect similar to the mosquito; a midge
- A normally proportioned person with small stature, usually defined as reaching an adult height less than 4'10". [from later 19th c.]
- (sometimes derogatory) Any short person.
- (attributively) 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
Hyponyms
- (a small person): manikin, homunculus, pygmy, lilliputian
Translations
person of small stature of adult height less than 4'10"
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derogatory: any short person
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attributively: that is the small version of something
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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loosely: a midge See midge
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “midget”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. [1]