midget

Definition

A very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.

Etymology

From midge (chiefly in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) + -et (diminutive suffix), (from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) and German Mücke (“midge, gnat”)).

Example Sentences

• "the midget pony"
• "By using a midget, skin-tight car of the kind made in Italy the Johannesburger might save himself much tribulation, but he likes large and glittering things, and would rather toil round his city in vain search of a place to put his supercharged, supergrinning Mammalac than use a baby car."
• "They [children] realize their oughts no less sharply than their crosses; and this even though they are midgets in a land of giants who have forgotten much of their language and whose right is often founded solely on force majeure."