variants
or less commonly pigmy
plural pygmies also pigmies
1
often capitalized
: any of a race of dwarfs described by ancient Greek authors
2
capitalized
: any of a small people of equatorial Africa ranging under five feet (1.5 meters) in height
3
a(1)
: an unusually small person
(2)
: an insignificant or unimpressive person
an intellectual pygmy
b
: something very small of its kind
pygmy
adjective
Examples of pygmy in a Sentence
hummingbirds may be the pygmies of the avian world, but what they lack in size they make up for in beauty
regrettably, most of the candidates for the party's nomination that year were political pygmies
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2016, pygmy hippos were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
—
Julia Gomez, USA Today, 11 July 2025
Moo Deng has also boosted awareness of pygmy hippos, an endangered species that are smaller cousins of the hippopotamus and native to West Africa.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 10 July 2025
According to the agency’s estimates, only between 2,000 and 2,500 adult pygmy hippos remain in the wild, and their population is in decline.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Scott Reef is a remote ecosystem millions of years old that’s home to a diverse array of marine life including endangered dusky sea snakes and migratory pygmy blue whales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pygmy
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Julia Gomez, USA Today, 11 July 2025
Moo Deng has also boosted awareness of pygmy hippos, an endangered species that are smaller cousins of the hippopotamus and native to West Africa.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 10 July 2025
According to the agency’s estimates, only between 2,000 and 2,500 adult pygmy hippos remain in the wild, and their population is in decline.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Scott Reef is a remote ecosystem millions of years old that’s home to a diverse array of marine life including endangered dusky sea snakes and migratory pygmy blue whales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pygmy
Cite this Entry
“Pygmy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pygmy. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pygmy
noun
pyg·my
ˈpig-mē 
plural pygmies
1
capitalized
: any of a small people of equatorial Africa ranging under five feet (1.5 meters) in height
2
: a person or thing very small for its kind
pygmy
adjective
Etymology
Middle English pigmei "pygmy, dwarf," from Latin pygmaeus (noun and adjective) "pygmy, dwarfish," from Greek pygmaios (same meaning), literally, "one no longer than the forearm," from pygmē "fist, measure of length from the elbow to the knuckles"
Word Origin
In ancient Greek the word pygmē was used to mean "a measure of length from the elbow to the knuckles." It also came to refer to the fist. From this word Greek writers formed the word pygmaios for "a tiny person no longer than the forearm." They were assumed to be writing about imaginary figures, not real people. Later, this Greek word was taken into Latin as pygmaeus, meaning "dwarf." From Latin pygmaeus English formed the word pygmy. In the 19th century this word was applied to a member of a race of small people found living in Africa.
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