midgetyadj.1
Misreading of nidgetty nidgetty adj. (see quot. 1798 at nidgetty adj. for the correct reading).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > extremely small
tinea1400
little weea1525
undersmall?1527
little little1542
perpusil1598
tiny1598
punctual1605
minute1606
pygmya1616
exiguous1630
atomical1646
minutulous1651
puncticular1658
arenulous1664
myriate1665
minimal1666
minim1671
infinitesimal1733
minutissim1768
weeny1790
midgety1798
teeny1802
pinpoint1807
atomic1809
homuncular1822
minnow1824
weeshy1825
pinhead1835
finitesimal1836
homoeopathic1838
teeny-weeny1842
teenty1844
teenty-taunty1844
teeny-tiny1849
submolecular1854
teensy1856
super-compact1860
midget1865
ultramicroscopic1870
pilulous1871
teensy-weensy1872
tee-tiny1872
minuscule1878
smitchy1888
eeny-weeny1894
eensy-weensy1904
pygmean1904
ultramicroscopical1904
bitsy1905
bitty1905
totty1906
millimetric1909
miniscule1909
minuscular1911
insectual1912
micro1931
eeny1933
eensy1940
submicrogram1941
submillimetre1954
diddy1963
mini1963
micro-mini1967
1798 J. Austen Lett. (1884) I. 177 [My] cap..was before too midgetty to please me.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
> as lemmas
ˈmidgety
ˈmidgety adj.2 somewhat colloquial resembling or suggestive of a midget; very small or insignificant, puny.
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1871 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 2 Dec. Of all the subjects of my sidewalk studies, none are so full of interest to one as girls. Not so especially the midgety mites of a half dozen or so summers, but those who [etc.].
1962 Harper's Mag. 1 Mar. 19/1 The GOP leaders of the two Houses..look pretty midgety in comparison with Taft, Vandenberg, or even Borah.
2007 Sunday Times 3 June (Style section) 51 The fish was rather midgety by northern standards, but decent for Notting Hill.
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adj.11798as lemmas