Etymograph

English

pygmy

Pygmy comes from Latin Pygmaeī, from Ancient Greek πυγμαῖος ‘a member of a legendary race of dwarves’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to punch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-1‘to punch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυγμή2pugmḗ‘fist’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυγμαῖος2pugmaîos‘a member of a legendary race of dwarves’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPygmaeī2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1614pygmy2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πυγμή
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pygmy
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Samvel Pvrchas, Pvrchas his Pilgrimage: “Here are little Apes, much reſembling men in their…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πυγμή‘to punch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυγμήWiktionary, English pygmypugmḗ‘fist’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυγμαῖοςWiktionary, English pygmypugmaîos‘a member of a legendary race of dwarves’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPygmaeīWiktionary, English pygmy
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1614pygmyWiktionary, English pygmy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Samvel Pvrchas, Pvrchas his Pilgrimage: “Here are little Apes, much reſembling men in their…”

first attested In Ancient Greek, first mentioned by Homer; only applied to actual human races in the 19th century (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

In Ancient Greek, first mentioned by Homer; only applied to actual human races in the 19th century.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to punch’

point, fuck, punch, fist, pivot, poignant, puncture, pungent, repugnant, punto, punctuate, compunction, pugnacious, impugn, pugilist, 41 more

Today it means

noun A member of various legendary races of dwarfs, or supernatural peoples of diminutive stature.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pygmy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πυγμή. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- / pygmy

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