pygmy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɪɡmi/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English pigmei,^[2][3][4][5] from Latin Pygmaei,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek Πυγμαῖοι (Pugmaîoi), a race of dwarfs mentioned by Homer and Herodotus,^[2][3][4] from the adjective pugmaîos “dwarfish”,^[3][4][5][6] literally “as tall as a pugmḗ”, the length from elbow to knuckles, from pugmḗ “fist”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline suggests that the Greek use for a people was a folk-etymological adaptation of a foreign word.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a fabled race of dwarfs said to live in Ethiopia or India (about 1384).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

From 1520 the word meant any very small person,^[7] and from the 1590s, figuratively, a person of little importance.^[4][7] In the 17th century it was sometimes applied to chimpanzees and other apes, thought to be the originals of the ancient story.^[4][7] From 1863 it was applied to peoples of short stature in equatorial Africa,^[4] who may have inspired the ancient legend.^[4] As an adjective it is used for unusually small kinds of animals and plants.^[1][5]

Timeline

• about 1384 – a member of a fabled race of dwarfs.^[3][4][7]
• 1520 – any very small person.^[7]
• 1591 – adjective.^[3]
• 1592 – a person of small importance.^[7]
• 1699 – an anthropoid ape (obsolete).^[7]
• 1863 – peoples of equatorial Africa.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (capitalized) A member of any of several peoples of short stature, especially of equatorial Africa.
2. A member of a legendary race of dwarfs described by ancient Greek writers.
3. An unusually small person or thing.
4. A person of little importance, or with some quality in very small measure.

Adjective

1. Unusually small for its kind, especially in the names of animals and plants.
2. Unimportant; trivial.

Word family

• pygmoid
• pygmyish
• pygmyism
• pygmean
• pygmy chimpanzee
• pygmy owl

Related words

• pugnacious
• pungent
• dwarf

Usage notes

Random House refers pygmy to its synonym discussion at dwarf.^[6] Merriam-Webster and Random House give pigmy as a variant spelling.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press