Wordwyrt

pygmy

/ˈpɪɡmi/PIG-mee
/ˈpɪɡmi/PIG-mee

Meaninga fist-high (person)

Common meaning: very small

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√PAK‘bind, fasten, fix, hold fast’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 188, p. 736 · scan
  2. Greekπυγμή‘a fist’
  3. Latinpygmaeus
  4. Frenchpygmésource
  5. Middle Englishpigmeysource
  6. Englishpygmy‘very small’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek πυγμή ‘a fist; fist-to-elbow length’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry PYGMY, p. 481 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • πυγμή Greek “a fist; fist-to-elbow length”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app