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American Heritage Dictionary:
midg·et |
[Diminutive of MIDGE .]
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Roget's Thesaurus:
midget |
adjective
Antonyms by Answers.com:
midget |
Definition: very short, small
Antonyms: big, giant, huge, large, tall
n
Definition: very small person
Antonyms: giant
Word Tutor:
midget |
The model car was a midget replica of a real limousine.
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Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Midget |
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small people. However, "midget" is regarded as offensive to those with dwarfism by both the Restricted Growth Association (UK based support network for people of profound short-stature) and the Little People of America (the American support network), along with many other nationally based groups, advocating the rights of individuals with disabilities and dwarfing conditions.
The term "midget" was coined in 1865 to describe an extremely short person with body proportions similar to those of a normal-sized person's.[1] P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize the term midget when he began featuring General Tom Thumb in his circus. "Dwarf" originally denoted people with disproportionately short limbs. "Midget" however became linked to referencing short people put on display for public ridicule and sport, whereas the terms "dwarf" or "dwarfism" have a more medical base.
Like many other older terms, midget has become part of popular language, although it is sometimes used in a derogatory sense.[2] When applied to a person who is very short, midget is an example of the euphemism treadmill.[3] Actor Hervé Villechaize insisted on being called a "midget" as opposed to a "little person", which irritated some dwarf activists of the time.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 1961) defines midget in the noun form as "a very diminutive person", and in the adjective form as "like a midget in size; very diminutive", hence its usage as a synonym for "miniature", as with cars.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the term midget comes from midge, a sand fly, and the diminutive suffix -et.[4]
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Translations:
Midget |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - dværg, gnom, mandsling
adj. - dværg-, lilliput-, miniature-
Nederlands (Dutch)
dwerg, iets kleins, kleine raceauto, mini-
Français (French)
n. - nain, nain (injur)
adj. - miniature, de poche
Deutsch (German)
n. - Zwerg, Liliputaner
adj. - Miniatur-
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - νάνος, ανθρωπάκι
adj. - μικροσκοπικός, μικρός
Português (Portuguese)
n. - miniatura (f), anão (m)
adj. - minúsculo
Русский (Russian)
лилипут, очень маленькое существо или вещь, миниатюрная фотокарточка
Español (Spanish)
n. - enano, chiquillo, submarino de bolsillo
adj. - en miniatura, liliputiense
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dvärg, midgetbil
adj. - mini-, dvärg-
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
侏儒, 小型的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 侏儒
adj. - 小型的
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아주 작은 물건
adj. - 아주 작은
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ユスリカ, 小人, 極小型のもの, ちび
adj. - 普通より小さい, 極小型の
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) قزم (صفه) صغير, ضئيل
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - גמד, ננס
adj. - ננסי, קטן
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Copyrights:
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 | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; sign up free. Read more |
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| Saunders Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Midget. Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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