Pygmies
/ˈpɪɡ.miːz/noun
Plural of pygmy: a member of various peoples traditionally described as very short in stature, or more broadly a very small person or thing.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek myth: the Pygmaioi were imagined as a tiny people, and their name is usually linked to pygmē, meaning the length from the elbow to the knuckles — basically a “cubit-fist” measure.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Πυγμαῖοι (Pygmaioi)
“A legendary race of very small people in Greek myth and literature”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πυγμή (pugmḗ)
“The fist; the length from the elbow to the knuckles”
Late Latin
Latin
pygmaeus
“A pygmy; a small person”
Old French
French
pigmée / pigmée
“A pygmy; a very small person”
Middle English
English
pigmey / pygmy
“A pygmy; later also a very small person or thing”
Modern English
English
pygmy / pygmies
“A member of certain short-statured peoples, or figuratively something very small”
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