midget English · revision 841

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Formed in English from [[midge]] “small biting fly” with the diminutive suffix [[-et]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Something very small, especially a small animal or insect (1816 in Merriam-Webster; 1839 in Etymonline for a kind of tiny biting fly; 1865 in Barnhart for anything very small).^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In American English ''midget'' was at first a popular variant of ''midge'' for the tiny biting flies of New England.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It was applied to an unusually small person by 1854 (1865 in the OED; 1884 in Barnhart),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Cresswell 2021) especially one exhibited publicly as a curiosity.^(OED 1989) In the 20th century it came to be used attributively of small-scale things, as in ''midget submarine'' (1908) and ''midget golf'',^(OED 1989) and of a small vehicle or aircraft (1930), including a class of small racing cars.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) In the 19th century it was also a pet form of the name Margaret.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1816 – something much smaller than usual.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1839 – a tiny biting fly (American English).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1854 – a very small person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – attributive, small-scale, as ''midget submarine''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – a small vehicle or aircraft.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often offensive)'' An extremely small person of otherwise normal proportions.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something, such as an animal, much smaller than usual for its kind.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A small, single-seat, open-wheel [[racing car]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very small, or of a class smaller than the usual size; [[miniature]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[midgetism]]

+ * [[midget golf]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[midge]]

+ * [[dwarf]]

+ * [[miniature]]

+ * [[mite]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster labels the word sometimes offensive when applied to a person, and Random House says it is not in technical use;^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Wiktionary notes that it is generally considered derogatory, even when it describes something other than a person.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}