Midget

This article is about the term "midget". For other uses, see Midget (disambiguation).

Singer's Midgets toured the US from 1910 to 1935 and were "enormously successful".[1]

Midget (from midge, a tiny biting insect[2]) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology.[3][4][5][6] While not a medical term like dwarf (for a person with dwarfism, a medical condition with a number of causes, most often achondroplasia),[7] midget long described anyone, or indeed any animal, exhibiting proportionate dwarfism.[8][9] The word has a history of association with the performance arts, as little people were often employed by acts in the circus, professional wrestling and vaudeville.

The term may also refer to anything of much smaller than normal size, as a synonym for "miniature" or "mini",[10] such as midget cell, midget crabapple, midget flowerpecker, midget submarine, MG Midget, Daihatsu Midget, and the Midget Mustang airplane; or to anything that regularly uses anything that is smaller than normal (other than a person), such as midget car racing and quarter midget racing.

"Midget" may also refer to a smaller version of play or participation, such as midget golf; or to anything designed for very young (i.e., small) participants—in many cases children—such as Disneyland's Midget Autopia, midget hockey, and midget football.[11] Some sports organizations, like Hockey Canada, have committed to removing the word, recognizing that it might be considered offensive.

  1. ^ Adelson 2005, p. 295.
  2. ^ Harper, Douglas. "midget". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  3. ^ Miller, P. S. (1987). "Coming up short: Employment discrimination against little people". Harv. CR-CLL Rev.
  4. ^ Adelson 2005, p. ??[page needed].
  5. ^ Gentry, Ruben; Wiggins, Ruby (15–16 November 2010). Individuals with Disabilities Are People, First--Intervene and They Will Learn. College of Education and Human Development Urban Education Conference. Jackson, Mississippi.
  6. ^ "midget". Webster's II New Collegiate Dictionary (2nd expanded ed.). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1999. p. 693. ISBN 0395962145. 1. An extremely small person who is otherwise normally proportioned.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shapiro2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference MW def was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Kennedy, Dan (2005-05-23). "What is Dwarfism?". American Documentary. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  10. ^ ""midget"". The World Book Dictionary. World Book. 2003. p. 1315. ISBN 9780716602996.
  11. ^ Driver, Bruce; Wharton, Clare (2004-10-20). The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Hockey. McGraw Hill Professional. pp. 15–. ISBN 9780071430111. Retrieved 15 January 2013.