pygmy
/ˈpɪɡmi/noun, adjective
pygmy is spelled P-Y-G-M-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pygmy means “A member of various legendary races of dwarfs, or supernatural peoples of diminutive stature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pygmy is pygmies.
How many letters and syllables are in pygmy?
| Letters | 5: P-Y-G-M-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pygmy?
Pygmy appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd 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 pygmy?
- /ˈpɪɡmi/
Pygmy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pygmy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pygmy
- pygmies plural
- more pygmy comparative
- most pygmy superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pygmy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A member of various legendary races of dwarfs, or supernatural peoples of diminutive stature.
- 2
datedproscribedA member of one of various tribal peoples of the Congo Basin in equatorial Africa, notable for their very short stature.
- 3
datedproscribedAlso applied to various other peoples of short stature.
- 4
derogatoryoffensiveAny dwarfish person or thing; a disparaging term for a small person.
- 5
derogatoryoffensiveAn insignificant person, at least in some respect.
adjective
- 1
Relating or belonging to the Pygmy people.
- 2
Unusually short or small for its kind, especially in the names of animals and plants.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pygmy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a member of various African peoples:
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 pygmy come from?
From Latin Pygmaeī, from Ancient Greek πυγμαῖος (pugmaîos, “a member of a legendary race of dwarves”), from πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist (as small as a fist)”). In Ancient Greek, first mentioned by Homer; only applied to actual human races in the 19th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).