midget

Dictionary: midg·et (mĭj'ĭt) pronunciation

Offensive. An extremely small person who is otherwise normally proportioned.
A small or miniature version of something.
A class of small objects, as a class of very small sailboats or racing cars.

adj.

Miniature; diminutive.
Belonging to a type or class much smaller than what is considered standard: a midget automobile.

[Diminutive of MIDGE .]

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adjective

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adj

Definition: very short, small
Antonyms: big, giant, huge, large, tall

n

Definition: very small person
Antonyms: giant

Veterinary Dictionary: midget

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acacia osswaldii.

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IN BRIEF: A very small person. Also: Anything very small of its kind.

The model car was a midget replica of a real limousine.

Wikipedia: Midget

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For the car, see MG Midget or Daihatsu Midget. For the band, see Midget (band).

Midget is a term used to describe an exceptionally short person. It generally refers to a person with the medical condition of Dwarfism. The terms "midget" and "dwarf" are often used synonymously, as both terms mean someone who has been short in stature since birth, but those terms were not originally synonyms.

Midget is a term that was originally coined in 1865, referring to an extremely short person with limbs similarly proportioned to his body as an average-size person's.^[1] P.T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize "midget" when he began featuring General Tom Thumb in his circus. Dwarf was originally used to denote those with short limbs as compared to those who had proportioned limbs. Like many other older terms, "midget" has become part of popular language, although it was often used in a pejorative sense.^{[citation needed]} When applied to a person who is very short, midget is an example of the euphemism treadmill.^[2] Actor Hervé Villechaize insisted on being called a "midget" as opposed to a "little person", which irritated 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", meaning a sand fly, and the suffix "-et", meaning little or small.^[3]

References

^ Kennedy, Dan (2005-05-23). "What is Dwarfism?". American Documentary. http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/bigenough/special_dwarfism_ety.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
^ "The "M" word". Arturo Gil and GilArt Designs. http://www.arturogil.com/m_word.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
^ Harper, Douglas. "midget". Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=midget. Retrieved 2008-04-03.

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Translations: Midget

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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

Italiano (Italian)
nano

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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		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
		Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		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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		Wikipedia. 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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