Pygmy
/ˈpɪɡ.mi/noun
A very small person, animal, or thing; especially a member of certain short-statured peoples.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Greek pygmaios, meaning “as long as a fist” or “fist-sized,” from pygmē (“fist”); Greek writers used it for a legendary tiny people, and that mythic image fed the later English word.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
πυγμή (pygmē)
“a fist; the length of the forearm from elbow to knuckles in some ancient measures”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πυγμαῖος (pygmaios)
“fist-sized; dwarfish; also a mythical race of very small people”
Late Latin
Latin
pygmaeus
“a pygmy; a very small person”
Middle French
French
pigmée / pygmée
“a pygmy, especially in classical and medieval learned usage”
16th Century
English
pigme / pygmie
“a pygmy; a member of a supposed tiny race”
Modern English
English
pygmy
“a very small person or animal; by extension, something diminutive”