PYGMIES

Noun

pygmies

plural of pygmy

Source: Wiktionary


PYGMY

Pyg"my, Pyg*me"an, a. Etym: [L. pygmaeus. See Pygmy.]

Definition: Of or pertaining to a pygmy; resembling a pygmy or dwarf; dwarfish; very small. " Like that Pygmean race." Milton. Pygmy antelope (Zoöl.), the kleeneboc.

– Pygmy goose (Zoöl.), any species of very small geese of the genus Nettapus, native of Africa, India, and Australia.

– Pygmy owl (Zoöl.), the gnome. Pygmy parrot (Zoöl.), any one of several species of very small green parrots (Nasiternæ), native of New Guinea and adjacent islands. They are not larger than sparrows. Pygmy chimpanzee, a species of anthropoid ape (Pan paniscus) resembling the chimpanzee, but somewhat smaller; also called bonobo. It is considered (1996) as having the closest genetic relationship to humans of any other animal. It is found in forests in Zaire, and is an endangered species.

Pyg"my, n.; pl. Pygmies. Etym: [L. pygmaeus, Gr. Pugnacious, Fist.] [Written also pigmy.]

1. (Class. Myth.)

Definition: One of a fabulous race of dwarfs who waged war with the cranes, and were destroyed.

2. Hence, a short, insignificant person; a dwarf. Pygmies are pygmies still, though perched on Alps. And pyramids are pyramids in vales. Young.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 June 2025

PUNGENCY

(noun) wit having a sharp and caustic quality; “he commented with typical pungency”; “the bite of satire”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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