Lilliput
/ˈlɪl.i.pʌt/noun
A tiny imaginary land or, figuratively, a very small place or thing.
Did you know?Jonathan Swift coined *Lilliput* in *Gulliver’s Travels* (1726), and the name is one of literature’s most famous examples of a place invented so convincingly that it escaped into everyday English.
Etymological Timeline
1726
English
Lilliput
“A fictional island inhabited by tiny people in Jonathan Swift’s satire *Gulliver’s Travels*.”
18th Century
English
lilliputian
“Pertaining to Lilliput; extremely small, tiny, or petty.”
19th Century
English
Lilliput
“Used figuratively for something miniature or diminutive.”
Modern English
English
lilliput
“A tiny place or thing; often used as an adjective in informal or literary contexts.”
Explore more surprising origins