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midget

midg·et/ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/noun

midget is spelled M-I-D-G-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (midg·et). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, midget means “A very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of midget is midgets.

How many letters and syllables are in midget?

Letters6: M-I-D-G-E-T
Syllables2: midg·et
In writing1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is midget?

Midget appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce midget?

  • /ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/

Midget has 2 syllables, split midg·et in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-midget.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with midget

Also written: midge.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of midget

  • midgets plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does midget mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    derogatoryA very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.

    the midget pony

  2. 2

    CanadaUSarchaicAlternative form of midge (“small fly”)

  3. 3

    derogatoryoffensiveA short person.

  4. 4

    derogatorySomething for use by a small person; especially something designed or made for one.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Midget in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchnain, naine (person of small stature of adult height less…), nabot (derogatory: any short person)
GermanZwerg, Zwergin, Liliputaner, Liliputanerin (person of small stature of adult height less…)
Portugueseanão, anã (person of small stature of adult height less…), mini- (attributively: that is the small version of…)
Spanishenano (person of small stature of adult height less…), chichón de piso, retaco (derogatory: any short person)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does midget come from?

From midge (chiefly in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) + -et (diminutive suffix), (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”)).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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