midget

[ mij-it ]

noun

1. Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. an abnormally small person having normal physical proportions.
2. any animal or thing that is very small for its kind.

adjective

1. very small or of a class below the usual size.
2. being a miniature replica or model.

midget

/ ˈmɪdʒɪt /

noun

1. a dwarf whose skeleton and features are of normal proportions
2. 1. something small of its kind
   2. ( as modifier )

      a midget car

3. an age level of 16 to 17 in amateur sport, esp ice hockey

Sensitive Note

A dwarf is someone with a medical condition that results in stunted growth (58 inches or shorter in height), with a physical form that is disproportionate or not normally developed in some way. The word midget is not a synonym; it is disparaging and offensive and should be avoided. It was formerly used for someone of proportionate form but abnormally small physical stature. The terms dwarf and little person are now preferable in reference to these short-statured people.

Other Words From

• midget·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of midget¹

First recorded in 1850–55; midge + -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of midget¹

C19: from midge + -et

Example Sentences

He is tactless, following Cohn into a restroom to beg for his help or scarfing down cheeseballs and talking about midget wrestling at an Atlantic City casino buffet.

From Salon

The network once demanded that they change the line “that albino stole my midget” to “that madman stole my hobo.”

From Los Angeles Times

Chiara Juster, the mother of an eighth-grader at Willard Middle School, said students called her daughter, 13, a “midget Jew” in the hallway between classes the week before Oct.

From Los Angeles Times

The respondent answers, “Yes, he liked watching undressed midgets solve complex equations on a too-high-up chalkboard.”

From Seattle Times

"This work is clinically important because, ultimately, the midget cells are probably what we should care about the most in human glaucoma," Shekhar said.

From Science Daily