pygmoidadj.n.
/ˈpɪɡmɔɪd/, U.S. /ˈpɪɡˌmɔɪd/ Chiefly Cultural Anthropology.
A. adj.
Resembling a pygmy; having (some of) the characteristics of a pygmy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > person of small-sized race > [adjective]
pygmoid1906
1906 Amer. Anthropologist 8 394/2 Such pygmoid remains as have been noted being rather individual variations within the limits of one and the same race.
1933 R. G. Austin tr. O. Menghin in Antiquity VII. 242 I connect the Mughem men with the Grimaldi and Bushman types, treating them as pygmoid (not as pygmies).
1977 P. Johnson Enemies of Society xvii. 226 The Veddas, a pygmoid people of primeval hunters living in the interior of Ceylon.
2003 Afr. Stud. Q. (Nexis) 7 68 The ‘pygmoid’ Twa were considered to be aboriginal inhabitants specializing in hunting and forest crafts.
B. n.
A pygmoid person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > person of small-sized race > [noun]
pygman?a1425
pygmeana1540
pygmy1841
pygmoid1922
the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [noun] > person
dwarfeOE
congeonc1230
go-by-ground?a1300
smalla1300
shrimpc1386
griga1400
gruba1400
murche1440
nirvil1440
mitinga1450
witherling1528
wretchocka1529
elf1530
hop-o'-my-thumb1530
pygmy1533
little person1538
manikin1540
mankin1552
dandiprat1556
yrle1568
grundy1570
Jack Sprat1570
squall1570
manling1573
Tom Thumb1579
pinka1585
squib1586
screaling1594
giant-dwarf1598
twattle1598
agate1600
minimus1600
cock sparrow1602
dapperling1611
modicum1611
scrub1611
sesquipedalian1615
dwarflinga1618
wretchcock1641
homuncio1643
whip-handle1653
homuncule1656
whippersnapper1674
chitterling1675
sprite1684
carliea1689
urling1691
wirling1691
dwarf man1699
poppet1699
durgan1706
short-arse1706
tomtit1706
Lilliputian1726
wallydraigle1736
midge1757
minikin1761
squeeze-crab1785
minimum1796
niff-naff1808
titman1818
teetotum1822
squita1825
cradden1825
nyaff1825
weed1825
pinkeen1850
fingerling1864
Lilliput1867
thumbling1867
midget1869
inch1884
shorty1888
titch1888
skimpling1890
stub1890
scrap1898
pygmoid1922
lofty1933
peewee1935
smidgen1952
pint-size1954
pint-sized1973
munchkin1974
1922 Amer. Anthropologist 24 167 Exogamic-monogamous culture (pygmies and pygmoids).
1958 Listener 2 Oct. 507/1 The majority of these little people..are pygmoids, the offspring of a liaison between a pygmy and a normal-sized Negro.
1965 E. E. Evans-Pritchard Theories Primitive Relig. v. 102 The Pygmies and Pygmoids of Africa and Asia.
1980 M. Bail Homesickness i. 41 Pygmoids of course are slightly taller.
1997 Geogr. Rev. 87 130 With increasing environmental differentiation, distinct genetic types such as Capoids, Negroids, Pygmoids, and Caucasoids evolved.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.1906