midget

Etymology

Diminutive of midge (from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) and German Mücke (“midge, gnat”)), using the suffix -et, originally (1865) for a "little sand fly", only around 1869 also a "very small person".

noun

1. (originally) A little sandfly.
   Although tiny and just two-winged, midgets can bite you till you itch all over your unprotected skin.
2. (loosely) Any small swarming insect similar to the mosquito; a midge.
3. (sometimes offensive) A normally-proportioned person with small stature, usually defined as reaching an adult height less than 4'10".
4. (sometimes offensive) Any short person.
5. (attributively) A small version of something; miniature.
   the midget pony