pygmy English · revision 1133

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɪɡmi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''pigmei'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|Pygmaei]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|Πυγμαῖοι|tr=Pugmaîoi]], a race of dwarfs mentioned by Homer and Herodotus,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from the adjective ''pugmaîos'' “dwarfish”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) literally “as tall as a ''pugmḗ''”, the length from elbow to knuckles, from ''pugmḗ'' “fist”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Etymonline suggests that the Greek use for a people was a folk-etymological adaptation of a foreign word.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A member of a fabled race of dwarfs said to live in Ethiopia or India (about 1384).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1520 the word meant any very small person,^(OED 1989) and from the 1590s, figuratively, a person of little importance.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the 17th century it was sometimes applied to chimpanzees and other apes, thought to be the originals of the ancient story.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From 1863 it was applied to peoples of short stature in equatorial Africa,^(Etymonline) who may have inspired the ancient legend.^(Etymonline) As an adjective it is used for unusually small kinds of animals and plants.^(Wiktionary)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1384 – a member of a fabled race of dwarfs.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1520 – any very small person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1592 – a person of small importance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1699 – an anthropoid ape (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1863 – peoples of equatorial Africa.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(capitalized)'' A member of any of several peoples of short stature, especially of equatorial Africa.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A member of a legendary race of [[dwarf|alt=dwarfs]] described by ancient Greek writers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An unusually small person or thing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person of little importance, or with some quality in very small measure.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Unusually small for its kind, especially in the names of animals and plants.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Unimportant; [[trivial]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==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''.^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster and Random House give ''pigmy'' as a variant spelling.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}