(also pigmy )
■ noun ( plural pygmies )
1》 ( Pygmy ) a member of certain peoples of very short stature in equatorial Africa or parts of SE Asia.
2》 chiefly derogatory a very small person or thing.
3》 a person who is deficient in a particular respect: an intellectual ~.
■ adjective very small; dwarf.
Derivatives
pygmean adjective ( archaic ).
Origin
ME (orig. denoting a mythological race of small people): via L. from Gk pugmaios 'dwarf', from pugmē 'the length measured from elbow to knuckles'.