Pygmy

or Pig·my

[ pig-mee ]

/ ˈpɪg mi /

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See synonyms for Pygmy on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural Pyg·mies.

Anthropology.

a member of a small-statured people native to equatorial Africa.
a Negrito of southeastern Asia, or of the Andaman or Philippine islands.

pygmy, Disparaging and Offensive. a small or dwarfish person.

pygmy, anything very small of its kind.

pygmy, a person who is of small importance, or who has some quality, attribute, etc., in very small measure.

Classical Mythology. (in the Iliad) one of a race of dwarfs who fought battles with cranes, who preyed on them and destroyed their fields.

adjective

Often pygmy . of or relating to the Pygmies.

pygmy, of very small size, capacity, power, etc.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

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Origin of Pygmy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pigmēis, plural of pigmē, from Latin Pygmaeus, from Greek pygmaîos “dwarfish” (adjective), Pygmy (noun), equivalent to pyg(mḗ)) “distance from elbow to knuckles” + -aios adjective suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM Pygmy

pygmoid, adjectivepyg·my·ish, adjectivepyg·my·ism, noun

Words nearby Pygmy

pyelonephrosis, pyemia, pygidium, pygmaean, Pygmalion, Pygmy, pygmy chimpanzee, pygmy elephant, pygmy glider, pygmy hippopotamus, pygmy owl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Pygmy in a sentence

To make matters worse, the pygmy goat did not even belong to Thompson; it had been stolen from a 4-year-old boy.
Rudy Eugene, Brian De Leon, and More Crazy 'Bath Salt' Freakouts|Andrew Carter|June 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Pygmy hippos are a distinct sub-species to their larger cousins the common hippopotamus.
Prince Harry The Pygmy Hippos Dies||May 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
With only a half million natives (and another half million foreign workers) Bahrain is a pygmy in Arab politics.
Bahrain Uprising: High Stakes for the U.S.|Bruce Riedel|February 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Reading Pygmy is like trying to do a crossword puzzle while riding a horse underwater.
The Prince of Gibberish|Allen Barra|June 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST

“So corrupt, evil, vile American liberal culture, such United States pretension,” as Pygmy reports.
The Prince of Gibberish|Allen Barra|June 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
After entering the great primeval forest Mr. Lloyd went west for five days without the sight of a Pygmy.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
He journeyed for three weeks in the Pygmy forest and had excellent opportunities for examining its inhabitants.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
They are lacking, like the Pygmy races in general, in the art of chipping stone, one of the earliest arts acquired by man.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
A large clearing may have eight to twelve of these Pygmy camps around it, with perhaps two thousand inmates.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
He felt very much of a pygmy and very helpless as he scrambled about over the icy decks.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for Pygmy (1 of 2)

pygmy

pigmy

/ (ˈpɪɡmɪ) /

noun plural -mies

an abnormally undersized person

something that is a very small example of its type

a person of little importance or significance

(modifier) of very small stature or size

Derived forms of pygmy

pygmaean or pygmean (pɪɡˈmiːən), adjective

Word Origin for pygmy

C14 pigmeis the Pygmies, from Latin Pygmaeus a Pygmy, from Greek pugmaios undersized, from pugmē fist

British Dictionary definitions for Pygmy (2 of 2)

Pygmy

Pigmy

/ (ˈpɪɡmɪ) /

noun plural -mies

a member of one of the dwarf peoples of Equatorial Africa, noted for their hunting and forest culture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Pygmy

Pygmy

A member of any ethnic group in which the average height of the adult male is less than four feet, eleven inches. There are Pygmy tribes in dense rain-forest areas of central Africa, southern India, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The most widely studied Pygmies are the Mbuti of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, who pursue a nomadic hunting and gathering subsistence (see nomadism and hunting and gathering societies), but have established complex interdependent relationships with their non-Pygmy farming neighbors.