different between midget vs elfin

English

Etymology

Diminutive of midge (from Old English mygg, my?? (“gnat”), from Proto-Germanic *mugj?, 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".

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?d??t

Noun

midget (plural midgets)

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". [from later 19th c.]
4. (sometimes offensive) Any short person.
5. (attributively) A small version of something; miniature.

   the midget pony

Usage notes

• Used for an insect, this is a variation on midge that is incorrect but commonly used.
• Use of this word to describe a short person may be considered offensive.

Synonyms

• (person below 4'10"): dwarf (loosely), little person
• (derogatory: any small person): dwarf, short-arse, shortie/shorty, tich/titch, vertically challenged person (humorous)
• (swarming insect): midge
• (miniature): dwarf

Antonyms

• (derogatory: any small person): giant
• (miniature): giant

Hyponyms

• (a small person): manikin, homunculus, pygmy, lilliputian

Translations

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “midget”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lf?n/
• Rhymes: -?lf?n

Etymology 1

From Middle English elven, from Old English elfen, ælfen (“nymph, spirit, fairy”), feminine of elf, ælf (“elf”), equivalent to elf +? -en. Cognate with Middle High German elbinne (“a fairy, nymph”).

Noun

elfin (plural elfins)

1. An elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.
2. A little urchin or child.
3. Any of the butterflies in the subgenus Incisalia of the North American lycaenid genus Callophrys.

Etymology 2

Partly from attributive use of Etymology 1, but reanalysed by Spenser as if equivalent to elf +? -en. Compare elven (adj), elvan.

Adjective

elfin (comparative more elfin, superlative most elfin)

1. Relating to or resembling an elf or elves, especially in its tiny size or features.

   • Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with […] on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust from which gnarled and rusty stalks thrust themselves up like withered elfin limbs.

Translations

Synonyms

• see list in elven

Anagrams

• lifen, nifle

Dutch

Alternative forms

• elvin

Etymology

From elf +? -in.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?f?n/
• Hyphenation: el?fin
• Rhymes: -?n

Noun

elfin f (plural elfinnen, diminutive elfinnetje n, masculine elf)

1. A female elf (fantasy humanoid).