释义 |
pygmy or pigmy /pigˈmi/ noun- A member of any of the unusually short-statured human races (Negritos, Negrillos and others)
- A dwarf
- Any person, animal or thing relatively diminutive or in some way insignificant
- A person of low moral, etc stature
- An anthropoid ape (obsolete)
- One of the ancient diminutive people who lived in underground houses, etc in whom some scholars see the historical origins of the fairies and elves of folklore
- An elf
- Orig a member of a race of dwarfs said by Homer and other ancient writers to have lived in N Africa and to have fought and been destroyed by cranes (mythology)
adjective- Dwarfish
- (esp of a breed or species) diminutive
- Of the pygmies
ORIGIN: Gr pygmaios measuring a pygmē (131/2 inches, the distance from elbow to knuckles) pygmaean or pigmaean, pygmean or pigmean /pig-mēˈən/ adjective pygˈmoid or pigˈmoid adjective pygmy chimpanzee see bonobo pygmy goose noun Any of three small ducks (not geese) of the genus Nettapus, found in Africa, S Asia and Australasia pygmy shrew noun A small shrew with a brown coat and pale underparts |