Pigmy

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Pig·my

or pig·my (pĭg′mē)

n. & adj.

Variants of Pygmy.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Pigmy

(ˈpɪɡmɪ)

n, pl -mies

(Peoples) a variant spelling of Pygmy

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Pyg•my

or Pigmy

(ˈpɪg mi)

n., pl. -mies,
adj. n.

a. a member of any of several small-statured peoples of Africa, esp. the forested regions of central Africa.

b. a Negrito of SE Asia, or of the Andaman or Philippine islands.

2. (l.c.) a small or dwarfish person.

3. (l.c.) anything very small of its kind.

4. (l.c.) a person of small importance or lacking in some important quality, attribute, etc.

adj.

5. (sometimes l.c.) of or pertaining to the Pygmies.

6. (l.c.) of very small size, capacity, power, etc.

[1350–1400; Middle English pigmēis, pl. of pigmē < Latin Pygmaeus < Greek pygmaîos dwarfish, a member of a legendary race of dwarflike people =pygm(ḗ) distance from elbow to knuckles + -aios adj. suffix]

pyg′moid, adj.

pyg′my•ism, n.

syn: See dwarf.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	pigmy - an unusually small individual pygmy small person - a person of below average size
	2.	Pigmy - any member of various peoples having an average height of less than five feet Pygmy small person - a person of below average size

pygmy

also pigmy
adjective

Extremely small:

diminutive, dwarf, Lilliputian, midget, miniature, minuscule, minute, tiny, wee.

Informal: peewee, pintsize, pintsized, teensy-weensy, teensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, weeny.

Translations

pygmÿi

pigmejs

Pygmej

pygmy,

pigmy

(ˈpigmi) – plural ˈpygmies ~ˈpigmies – noun

a member of an African race of very small people.

References in classic literature ?

What does the giant say to the pigmy?' inquired Arthur Gride, hobbling up to Ralph.

View in context

He grew small and smaller till he became a bobbing pigmy, away down toward the bottom--then disappeared.

View in context

He and the mender of roads sat on the heap of stones looking silently at one another, with the hail driving in between them like a pigmy charge of bayonets, until the sky began to clear over the village.