# midge

> English word · Noun · IPA /mɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #38,967

## Definitions
1. Any of various small two-winged flies, for example, from the family Chironomidae or non-biting midges, the family Chaoboridae or phantom midges, and the family Ceratopogonidae or biting midges, all belonging to the order Diptera.
2. A small, short or insignificant person.
3. Any bait or lure designed to resemble a midge.

## Etymology
From Middle English mydge, migge, from Old English mygg, myċġ (“midge, gnat”), from Proto-West Germanic *muggju, from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mū- (“fly, midge”), *mu-, *mew-.
The dialectal sense of "short person" was originally figurative, and gave rise to midget (“short person”) via the diminutive suffix -et, which has since become part of standard English with that meaning; this has caused midge to undergo rebracketing as a clipping of midget.
Cognates
* Scots mige (“midge”)
* Saterland Frisian Määge (“gnat, mosquito”)
* West Frisian mich (“fly, mosquito”)
* West Flemish meezje (“midge, mosquito”)
* Dutch mug (“midge, gnat, mosquito”)
* German Low German Mügge (“midge, gnat, mosquito”)
* German Mücke (“midge, gnat, mosquito”)
* Swedish mygg, mygga (“midge, gnat, mosquito”)
* Icelandic mý (“midge, gnat, fly”)
The Proto-Indo-European root was also the source of
* Latin musca
* Ancient Greek μυῖα (muîa)
* Russian му́ха (múxa)
* Latvian muša
* Czech muchnička
* Albanian mizë
* Armenian մուն (mun)

## Easily confused with
- **mig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mig)
- **Mie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mie)
- **mine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mine)
- **mike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mike)
- **mode** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mode)
- **mile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mile)
- **ming** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-ming)
- **MIDI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-midi)
- **mite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mite)
- **mime** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mime)
- **mire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mire)
- **midst** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-midst)
- **Milne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-milne)
- **mince** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mince)
- **mille** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mille)
- **mitre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mitre)
- **mirage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mirage)
- **midget** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-midget)
- **mingle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/midge-vs-mingle)
- **made** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/made-vs-midge)

## Common misspellings (7)
`imdge`, `mdige`, `middge`, `mideg`, `midgge`, `migde`, `mmidge`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/midge