Pyg·my / ˈpigmē/ (also Pig·my) • n. (pl. -mies) a member of certain peoples of very short stature in equatorial Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. ∎  (pygmy) chiefly derog. a very small person, animal, or thing. ∎  (pygmy) an insignificant person, esp. one who is deficient in a particular respect: he regarded them as intellectual pigmies.• adj. of, relating to, or denoting the Pygmies: centuries-old Pygmy chants from central Africa. ∎  (pygmy) (of a person or thing) very small. ∎  (pygmy) used in names of animals and plants that are much smaller than more typical kinds, e.g.,pygmy hippopotamus,pygmy water lily.DERIVATIVES: pyg·me·an / ˈpigmēən; pigˈmēən/ adj. ( archaic ).

pygmy originally (in late Middle English) denoting a mythological race of small people; in later use, a member of certain peoples of very short stature in equatorial Africa and parts of SE Asia. The word comes via Latin from Greek pugmaios ‘dwarf’, from pugmē ‘the length measured from elbow to knuckles’.

pygmy, pigmy XIV. In earliest use pl. pygmeis — L. pygmæī, pl. of pygmæus — Gr. pugmaîos dward(ish), f. pugmḗ measure of length from elbow to knuckles, fist.