pygmy
adjective/ˈpɪɡmi/
/ˈpɪɡmi/
(also pigmy)
[only before noun]- used to describe a plant or species (= type) of animal that is much smaller than other similar kinds
- a pygmy shrew
Word Originlate Middle English (originally in the plural, denoting a mythological race of small people): via Latin from Greek pugmaios ‘dwarf’, from pugmē ‘the length measured from elbow to knuckles’.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
pygmy