midget

Etymology

Formed from midge (chiefly used in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) and the diminutive suffix -et. Midge itself comes from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; it is cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) and German Mücke (“midge, gnat”).