PYG'MY, noun [Latin pygmoeus; Gr. the fist; as big as the fist.] A dwarf; a person not exceeding a cubit in highth. This appellation was given by the ancients to a fabulous race of beings inhabiting Thrace, who waged war with the cranes and were destroyed.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI