pygmy

English

Alternative forms

• pigmy

Etymology

From Latin Pygmaeī, from Ancient Greek πυγμαῖος (pugmaîos, “a member of a race of dwarves”), from πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist (as small as a fist)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɪɡmiː/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

pygmy (plural pygmies)

1. (often capitalized) A member of one of various Ancient Equatorial African tribal peoples, notable for their very short stature.
   • 2018, Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, The History and Geography of Human Genes:

     Although Pygmies are relatively protected against gene flow from other populations, many Pygmy tribes show extensive gene replacement and few have remained relatively unaltered.

2. (Greek mythology) A member of a race of dwarfs.
   • 2015, Sam Miller, A Strange Kind of Paradise: India through Foreign Eyes:

     Ctesias lived in Persia for several years, as the personal physician of King Ataxerxes II, and would have had contact with travellers to India, and Indian visitors to Persia. He describes dog-headed humans, pygmy men who grow their beards so long that they can be used as clothes, and affirms that it never rains in India.

3. (figuratively, derogatory, offensive) Any dwarfish person or thing.
   • 2015, Rosie Harris, Moving On: A family saga set in 1970’s Liverpool:

     It was so high up that the people walking about in the street below looked like pygmies.

4. (figuratively, derogatory, offensive) An insignificant person, at least in some respect.
   • 2016, Hugh Miall, Beyond Deterrence: Britain, Germany and the New European Security Debate:

     On the world stage Germany is an economic giant but a political pygmy, Britain in comparison a political giant but an economic pygmy.

Synonyms

• dwarf
• midget

Antonyms

• giant
• ettin

Derived terms

• African pygmy goat
• American pygmy goat
• cotton pygmy goose (Nettapus coromandelianus)
• Eurasian pygmy owl
• pygmy backswimmer
• pygmy blue whale
• pygmy chimpanzee
• pygmy cormorant
• pygmydom
• pygmy falcon
• pygmy giant panda
• pygmy hippo, pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)
• pygmy hog
• pygmyish
• pygmyism
• pygmy marmoset
• pygmy owl
• pygmy percher
• pygmy possum
• pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis)
• pygmy sperm whale
• pygmy squid
• pygmy tyrant
• pygmy woodpecker
• snake and pygmy pie

 

Related terms

• pygmoid

Translations

a member of various African peoples

• Bulgarian: пигме́й (bg) m (pigméj)
• Catalan: pigmeu m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 侏儒 (zh) (zhūrú), 矮人 (zh) (ǎirén), 俾格米 (zh) (bǐgémǐ)

• Czech: Pygmej m
• Danish: pygmæ c
• Dutch: pygmee (nl) m or f
• Faroese: pygmeur m
• Finnish: pygmi (fi)
• French: pygmée (fr) m
• German: Pygmäe (de) m
• Hungarian: pigmeus (hu)
• Irish: pigmí m
• Japanese: ピグミー (pigumī)
• Korean: 난쟁이 (ko) (nanjaeng'i)
• Norwegian: pygmé m, pygme m
• Polish: Pigmej (pl) m
• Portuguese: pigmeu m
• Romanian: pigmeu (ro) m
• Russian: пигме́й (ru) m (pigméj)
• Spanish: pigmeo (es) m
• Swedish: pygmé (sv) c
• Tagalog: himandak
• Ukrainian: пігме́й m (pihméj), пігме́йка f (pihméjka)
• Volapük: (♂♀) pügmen, (♂) hipügmen, (♀) jipügmen

a member of a mythological race of dwarfs

• Bulgarian: джудже (bg) n (džudže)
• Dutch: pygmee (nl) m or f
• Finnish: kääpiö (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: πυγμαῖος m (pugmaîos)

• Japanese: 小人族 (こびとぞく, kobitozoku)
• Portuguese: pigmeu m
• Romanian: pigmeu (ro) m, pitic (ro) m
• Russian: пигме́й (ru) m (pigméj)
• Swedish: pygmé (sv) c
• Tagalog: himandak

any dwarfish person

• Bulgarian: джудже (bg) n (džudže)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 侏儒 (zh) (zhūrú), 矮人 (zh) (ǎirén)

• Dutch: dwerg (nl) m, pygmee (nl) m or f
• Hindi: वामन (hi) m (vāman), बालिश्त (hi) m (bāliśt)
• Japanese: 小人 (ja) (こびと, kobito)
• Portuguese: pigmeu m
• Romanian: pitic (ro) m
• Russian: ка́рлик (ru) m (kárlik)
• Tagalog: himandak

an insignificant person

• Dutch: dwerg (nl) m, pygmee (nl) m or f
• Japanese: 無能 (ja) (むのう, munō)
• Portuguese: pigmeu m

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

• French: ^{(please verify)} pygmée (fr) m
• German: ^{(please verify)} Pygmy m
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 피그미족 (pigeumijok)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} enano (es) m, ^{(please verify)} pigmeo (es) m

Adjective

pygmy (comparative more pygmy, superlative most pygmy)

1. Relating or belonging to the Pygmy people.
2. Like a pygmy; unusually short or small for its kind.
   • 1999, Ashok V. Desai, The Price of Onions, page 73:

     Amongst foodgrains, as we travelled from the green South and East towards the dry North and West, the pygmy crop of rice gave way to the tall bajra and jowar.

Synonyms

• pygmyish
• dwarfish

See also

• Negrito