Pygmy Definition
Pygmy (pig′mē)
noun pl. -·mies
- any of several groups of small African or Asian peoples described in ancient history and legend
- a person belonging to any of several modern African (Negrillo) and Asian (Negrito) peoples of small stature
- any person, animal, or plant abnormally undersized; dwarf
- an insignificant person or thing
Etymology: ME pigmey < L pygmaeus < Gr pygmaios, of the length of the pygmē, forearm and fist, also fist: see pugnacious
adjective
- of the Pygmies
- very small
- insignificant
pygmy Synonyms
Pygmy Usage Examples
Converse of object
- include: And Paul says it's like that for everyone - including the pygmy in Peru.
- make: They know the need for multilateralism makes a pygmy of the U.S. military might.
Noun used with modifier
'the: I was 'the pygmy in deepest darkest Africa ' only I lived in Basingstoke.
Adjective modifier
- African: Turnbull, Colin M. Wayward servants; the two worlds of the African Pygmies.
- indigenous: The present populations go back to Nilotic and Bantu migrations as well as the indigenous pygmies.
Modifies a noun
- seahorses: These are well worth checking out, for this is just the type of location where Pygmy Seahorses may be found!
- hippopotamus: These forests are home to the forest elephant and the pygmy hippopotamus.
- shrew: The mammal survey showed that wood mice live at Jumping Downs and pygmy shrew were found at some of the reptile survey sites!
- cormorant: Pygmy Cormorant is highly restricted range species, its total population estimated between 50,000 to 60,000.
- hippo: Pygmy hippos are extremely rare in the wild, mainly due to deforestation for the timber trade.
- chimpanzee: The photo of two young male bonobos ( pygmy chimpanzees ) happily engaged in fellatio is particularly endearing.
Preposition: in
forest: Take the pygmy in the forest who has never been outside and seen the horizon.
Browse dictionary entries near Pygmy
- ‹ pygmoid
- ‹ Pygmalion
- ‹ pygmaean
- ‹ pygidium
- ‹ pyemia
- ‹ pyelonephritis
- ‹ pyelography
- ‹ pyelogram
- ‹ pyelitis
- ‹ pye-dog
- pygmy chimpanzee ›
- pygmyism ›
- pyjamas ›
- Pyke, Magnus ›
- pyknic ›
- pyknosis ›
- Pyle ›
- pylon ›
- pylorectomy ›
- pylorus ›

